Coffee Shop Soundtrack
by CoffeeEyes
Summary: AU where Kurt and Blaine never met or dated in high school. Blaine works at a coffee shop in New York and Kurt comes in one day.
1. 1  Frame By Frame

_**Frame By Frame**_

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><p>When Blaine's alarm went off early on Friday morning, he groaned and turned over, wishing he hadn't taken a job at a coffee shop of all places, where he'd have to get up early for work. As much as he needed the money, he was starting to think that this just wasn't worth it, and it was only his third day. The only upside was that he hadn't been out late like he had been the past few days. He rolled out of bed and jumped in the shower, hoping the water would wake him up. Thankfully, it did, and he was out his apartment door and on his way to work at about 5:45, also thankful that it was only a fifteen minute walk there.<p>

When Blaine had thought about where he'd be in three years during high school, he didn't see himself where he was now. But he wasn't complaining. Blaine loved living in New York, and he was thankful that he was able to live in such a beautiful city and play music, like he had always wanted to. He was also glad that he had made a few new friends since moving away from Ohio, along with keeping his friend and fellow Warbler, Trent, as a roommate since moving.

Blaine walked down the sidewalk, breathing in the crisp fall air, a messenger bag tossed over one shoulder and a thermos of his own coffee in his right hand, and hoped that work wouldn't be too busy. When he walked inside his coworker and friend, Melissa, was smiling brightly at him, "Good morning Blaine."

He smiled at her, "Good morning."

"Is this your first early morning shift?" She asked as she handed him his apron.

Blaine yawned as he set his things in the back room, "Yeah."

"Alright, well then I get to teach you how to open the store!" He couldn't help but wonder exactly how she was so perky, but just went along with it.

By eight, it was pretty busy, and Melissa had Blaine taking orders as she made drinks. For the most part, his morning was going by smoothly and he hoped that the next four hours of his shift would be just as easy. As he waited for someone to decide what to order, he noticed two people arguing toward the back of the line, and was immediately glad that they had caught his attention. One of them was a girl – a brunette who looked about his age, with straight across bangs and a bright yellow peacoat on.

It wasn't the girl that had caught his eye though, it was the boy she was arguing with. He was tall and slender and wearing a long brown sweater with some black skinny jeans and tall black boots. His hair was light brown and groomed perfectly, unlike Blaine who had just gotten out of the shower and let his curly hair dry however it wanted without so much as touching any gel. He instantly felt insecure just looking at this boy because he was completely immaculate, from his hair down to the toes of his boots. That, and he was undeniably cute.

Blaine hadn't noticed that the pair had stopped arguing as he had been staring and instead were waiting patiently in line. The girl seemed to feel his gaze, because she nudged the boy and then they were both looking his way, and the boy's eyes met his own. Blaine's heart seemed to stop for a second when their eyes met because God, his eyes. They were so blue and-

"Excuse me?" The person standing in front of him brought Blaine out of his daydream and he turned his head quickly to look at him, "I'm ready to order." Blaine took his order and the order of the person after him without glancing back at the end of the line again because he had definitely head the girl giggling, and he was positive that she was giggling because he had been starting, and couldn't risk looking up for fear that the boy was looking at him again.

Blaine took two more orders, and when he looked up to take his third, he jumped slightly because it was the pair he had been staring at standing in front of him. The boy smiled softly at him, "Hey new guy," When Blaine didn't say anything in return, he continued, "You_ are_ new, right?"

Blaine shook his head, feeling stupid for not responding, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm new. I started on Wednesday."

The boy smiled knowingly, "I figured. Well new guy, I'll get a grande nonfat mocha, and she'll get a grande white mocha."

"Anything else?" Blaine asked as he typed the order into the computer.

When he looked back up, the boy in front of him was grinning slightly, "Nope, that's it. Keep the change." He handed him a ten then walked to a table and sat down with the girl. Now, Blaine had met quite a few cute boys since he had moved to New York (hell, he even dated some of them) but this boy was definitely attractive. As he made their drinks, Blaine had to stop himself from staring in their direction.

"He was totally checking you out," Rachel whispered as her and Kurt sat down at their normal spot, making sure that the guy who had taken their order couldn't hear her.

Kurt rolled his eyes, "Oh whatever. You always say that." Kurt was starting to get sick of Rachel trying to be his wingman everywhere they went.

"Maybe because it's true," Rachel said smiling, "But really, he was totally eyeing you."

"That's cool," Kurt replied, "Need I remind you that I have a boyfriend?"

Rachel shrugged, "I know. But it's not like your boyfriend would be able to do anything about a cute barista checking you out."

Kurt laughed, "Whatever Rachel." When he heard him call their coffee orders, he glanced at Rachel, who nodded in the direction of the counter, telling him to go get it. "Seriously?" He whispered harshly and when she didn't move, he stood and walked over to get their coffee. "Thanks, new guy," Kurt said, smiling at the curly haired boy behind the counter, who smiled in return. Okay, so he was pretty cute, but there was no way he was going to let Rachel know that he thought so, or he'd never hear the end of it.

It was noon when Blaine was finally off of work. He went to grab his things out of the back room, where Melissa was sitting, taking her break and texting someone. As much as he was going to regret it, he wanted to ask her something. "Melissa?"

She looked up from her phone and smiled at him, "Yes?"

Blaine looked down at his feet, "You know those two people that I helped earlier?"

"Wow, that's really specific, Blaine, which ones?" She joked, setting her phone down and looking at him.

He sighed, "The two right at the end of our rush this morning? There was a brunette girl and a boy…"

"The guy who kept calling you New Guy?" Melissa asked, smiling at the thought.

Blaine laughed a little, "Yeah, them. Do you know them?"

She shrugged, "I don't _know_ them, but they're regulars. The girl's name is Rachel. I think she goes to school around here. I don't remember the guy's name though."

"Oh," Blaine replied, not bothering to hide his disappointment. Though he wasn't sure what knowing the guy's name was going to do for him. He was just curious.

Melissa's eyes widened, "Oh my god, you totally think he's cute, don't you?"

"Well, I-"

"I could talk to him for you, if you want," Melissa cut him off, getting excited.

Blaine laughed, "No, it's fine. That would probably creep him out. Plus I doubt he even-"

"Oh, he's totally gay, if that's what you were about to say," She said, cutting him off again.

Blaine rolled his eyes, "It's fine, Mel. I was just curious is all."

Blaine was about to walk out of the back room when she spoke up again, "You know, if you want to know his name, you can always ask for it when he gives you his order…"

Blaine laughed again, "Thanks Melissa. I'll see you later."

As Blaine walked home, he couldn't help but want to kick himself for acting the way he did around that guy. He had never lost his cool around an attractive guy before, and he decided that the only reason he had was due to lack of sleep and the fact that it caught him off guard.

"How was work?" Trent asked when Blaine opened the door to their apartment. He was sitting on the couch reading, but looked up when Blaine walked in.

"Ugh, long," Blaine groaned, "I need a beer."

"Blaine, it's noon," Trent interjected, "And besides, you've only been twenty-one for a few months now. You're too young to be 'needing' a beer."

Blaine rolled his eyes at his comment, "Oh whatever. Are you hungry?"

"Already got food," He replied, "I got you a sandwich. It's in the fridge."

Blaine grinned, "Thank you!" He opened the fridge, grabbed the sandwich and a beer, and sat down at the table. He couldn't help but want to bring up the 'nonfat mocha' guy to Trent, and decided to as he swallowed a bite of his sandwich, "So there's a cute regular that comes into my work."

Trent chuckled, "Oh really?"

"Yup!" Blaine replied cheerfully, feeling much better having got some food and alcohol in him, "He gets a nonfat mocha, and he's basically perfect."

"And does nonfat mocha guy have a name?" He asked, chuckling a bit and shutting his book.

"Nope," Blaine replied, taking a drink, "Well, yeah. I mean, of course he does. I just don't know it yet."

Trent couldn't help but laugh as he stood up to get himself a beer, "You're such a puppy sometimes, Anderson."

Blaine laughed too, "Well that book seemed boring, so I figured I'd tell you about my day."

"Hmm… And are we going to talk to nonfat mocha guy?"

Blaine shrugged, "I don't know. We'll see."

Trent rolled his eyes, "Please don't tell me you're always going to be this weird when you get up early. Because if so, you're quitting that job."

Blaine pretended to gasp dramatically, "I can't quit now! I don't even know the cute guy's name yet!"

"I'm really glad I have you around, or I'd have no entertainment." He commented, taking a drink of his beer.

Blaine grinned in return and continued, "He kept calling me 'New Guy'. Do you think he was flirting with me?"

"Maybe," Trent mused, leaning on the counter and taking a sip of his beer, "Or, you know, he was pointing out the fact that you're new."

Blaine shook his head, "I dunno. Maybe you'll have to come to work with me some day so you can tell me, because Melissa was no help."

"I think I'll have to pass," Trent replied, "As fun as going to work with you sounds, I think you can figure this out on your own."

Blaine shrugged, "Your loss."

"How do you even know if he's gay?" Trent asked, crossing the room to sit back down, and Blaine followed him, "I don't really think that ordering a nonfat mocha necessarily tells you anything about his sexuality."

"Melissa said he was," Blaine replied simply, sitting down on the couch with him.

Trent laughed, "And when do you work again?"

"Sunday afternoon," Blaine said, smiling.

"Well, let me know if you see nonfat mocha guy, okay?"

Blaine laughed, "Oh trust me, I will."

Though Blaine was treating the situation like a joke, he really was quite interested in his mystery customer. He had been single for a while, and for all he knew, this new guy could be a good prospect boyfriend. He had to admit that he was excited to see him again.


	2. 2 Sunday Morning

**_Sunday Morning_**

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><p>Kurt wasn't going to lie – he was slightly disappointed when he and Rachel went to get coffee on Saturday morning and the girl (whose name he was sure was Melissa) was the only one working. Apparently, Rachel had sensed it, too. "Disappointed?" She asked, as they walked out with their drinks.<p>

"About what?" Kurt played dumb and sipped on his coffee as they walked down the sidewalk.

"About your cute barista not working today, of course," Rachel teased.

"Since when is he _my_ cute barista?" He asked, playing it cool.

"You're totally not fooling me Kurt, I'm your best friend. I know when you think someone is cute," She replied, grinning. She was right. Rachel definitely did have a knack for being able to tell when Kurt liked someone. In fact, it was thanks to her that Kurt had finally got the guts to ask his current boyfriend out.

Kurt rolled his eyes, "Whatever. What's it to you anyway?"

She shrugged, "Nothing. But he is pretty cute. I don't blame you for having a crush on him."

"But I don't-"

"Shh," Rachel interrupted, "It's okay. Your secret is safe with me."

As much as he wanted to, he couldn't deny that the new barista was cute. His smile was adorable and the way he got all flustered when Kurt had embarrassed him had been cute too. He found himself thinking about this nameless boy as they walked down the street, until Rachel snapped him out of his daydream. "You're totally thinking about him right now, aren't you?" She exclaimed, obviously excited for one reason or another.

Kurt rolled his eyes, "So? Is it illegal for me to think about him?"

Rachel giggled, "No, not at all. Like I said, it's cute."

Kurt scoffed, "Once again, do I need to remind you that I have a boyfriend?" His mind drifted to his boyfriend, Hayden, who probably wouldn't be too pleased to hear Kurt and Rachel talking about his crush on the barista (even though Kurt would argue that it was near impossible to have a "crush" on someone after ordering coffee from them once).

"It's also not illegal to find someone attractive while you're in a relationship," Rachel pressed, "It's not like you're going to peruse it or anything. I don't think Hayden would care."

Kurt sighed, "Regardless, we're not going to have this conversation. It's stupid."

Rachel was quiet for a moment, but it was short lived, "But you _do_ think he's cute, right?"

"Yes," Kurt answered, frustrated, "He was good looking. But that's it. Are you happy?"

She grinned and linked their arms together as they walked, "Very happy."

"You're going to be the death of me," Kurt sighed, but couldn't help but grin thanks to Rachel's infectious smile.

"You just need to loosen up a bit," She teased, shaking him a little bit, and Kurt held his coffee out so it didn't spill. "Plus," She added, "I know you are faithful to Hayden."

"Good," Kurt sighed again, hoping she was done.

"_But_," Rachel added, looking up at him, "If you were single, I'd make you talk to cute barista boy. He's totally your type."

"Rachel," Kurt cut in, voice stern, "That's enough."

She shrugged, "I mean you _do_ have a thing for brunettes, and did you see those eyes?"

"You're getting ahead of yourself," Kurt said, cutting her off, "How do you even know he's gay?"

She laughed, "Did you see the way he was looking at you?"

"God, why am I even having this conversation with you?" He asked, shaking his head, and Rachel just gripped his arm in return. They stopped walking and turned to look up at the building in front of them, which happened to be Hayden's apartment. "Do you think you can keep your mouth shut while we're with my _boyfriend_?" Kurt stressed, looking at the brunette next to him. She pretended to zip her mouth shut and grinned up at him before nodding. Kurt just shook his head in response, and opened the door to let Rachel into the apartment building in front of him.

As the two of them stood in the elevator up to Hayden's apartment, any thoughts of the boy from the coffee shop were wiped from Kurt's mind. He wasn't going to deny that he was pretty excited to see his boyfriend. They rarely got to hang out for long during the week because of class, so the weekends were always a relief. Lately, Hayden had been so busy with class, they didn't even get to see eachother as much on the weekends anymore, so Kurt was definitely excited to spend a day with him.

Kurt and Hayden had met at the end of their freshman year of college when they ran into eachother in the hallway of the dorms, and they had basically been inseparable ever since. It turned out that Hayden was in a lot of Rachel's classes, because he was in theater too, so Kurt learned a lot about him pretty quickly. With a little push from Rachel, the two started dating in the middle of their sophomore year. The relationship was difficult at first, because Hayden was from New York and Kurt went home to Ohio for the summer and Christmas, but it became easier when Kurt decided to stay in New York for Christmas his junior year, and when he brought Hayden home that summer. They were just beginning their senior year together, and November would mark their two year anniversary. Though they had their arguments here and there, Kurt couldn't be happier with his boyfriend.

Kurt knocked a couple of times on his boyfriend's door before it opened, revealing Hayden who looked half ready. His short brown hair was still damp and he was wearing an undershirt and holding two other shirts in his hand, as if he couldn't decide between them. "Sorry I'm not ready yet, guys, I woke up late," he explained, letting them in.

Rachel shrugged, "It's okay, we're not in a hurry. We don't even have any plans yet."

Kurt smiled and kissed him quickly, then looked down at the clothes in his hands. "Wear the red shirt," he said, tugging at a red flannel shirt, "It looks cute on you. And don't do anything with your hair. It looks fine when you let it dry."

Hayden smiled, "Thanks. It'll just be a minute."

The three of them spent the majority of the day walking around the city and shopping together. That evening, Rachel headed back to her and Kurt's apartment, mentioning something about a date, and Hayden and Kurt wished her good luck as she left.

"So," Hayden started, his arm around Kurt as they sat on his couch together, "Since Rachel has a date tonight, and we don't want a repeat of what happened last time she brought a date home while you were there, would you like to stay the night?"

Kurt was reminded of a few months ago, when Rachel went on a date and came home with the boy, wasted and practically half naked as they stumbled into their small apartment, where Kurt was sitting on the couch, watching TV. Needless to say, Kurt retreated into his room and took a sleeping pill and tried to ignore his drunk roommate and her date for the rest of the night.

"I think she learned her lesson when she caught him trying to sneak out the next morning," Kurt joked, "And besides, I don't have any clothes over here…"

Hayden shrugged, "You can borrow some of mine tomorrow, if you want. We're almost the same size." When Kurt was silent for a moment, he continued, "And don't try to tell me that my clothes aren't nice enough, because I think I've spent more money on clothes than I have on food since I've started dating you."

Kurt laughed, "No, it's fine. I don't mind. I was just thinking that I've never borrowed your clothes before… It's cute."

Hayden grinned and kissed him quickly, "Good."

Hayden was still sleeping when Kurt awoke the next morning, so he quietly grabbed an outfit from his closet and took a quick shower. When he got out, Hayden still wasn't up, and he left him a quick note next to the bed before heading out. It was Sunday and it was almost noon, and none of his homework was done, and Kurt knew his boyfriend would understand. He took one last look in the mirror, adjusted his somewhat messy hair, and mentally reminded himself that he would have to buy some hair care products over to Hayden's for when he stayed the night again, then headed out the door.

Because it was a nice fall afternoon and it was so pretty outside, Kurt decided against taking a cab home and chose to walk instead, enjoying the fresh air. He pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time and mentally cursed himself for not bringing his charger with him to Hayden's, and hoped that the ten percent left on his battery would make it until he got home.

Though he probably didn't have the time, Kurt slowed as he neared his favorite coffee shop. He normally only stopped in for coffee in the morning with Rachel, but he _was_ feeling sleepy and hungry, and had heard that their sandwiches were pretty good, so he opened the door and stepped inside. The first thing he noticed was the sweet, familiar smell of the coffee. The second thing he noticed was that the cute barista from Friday was standing behind the counter, looking down at something, and he couldn't help but be a little relieved that Rachel wasn't with him, because he could feel his heart rate speed up at the sight of him. Kurt willed it down and calmed himself, though, reminding himself that he was just a barista, nothing more.

Blaine had been trying to organize receipts that had been thrown all over the counter by the person who had been working before him, when a somewhat familiar voice brought him out of his concentration. "Excuse me."

Blaine glanced up and almost jumped when he saw the "nonfat mocha" boy (or at least that's what he was calling him) standing in front of him, smiling slightly. "Oh, hey," he choked out, trying to sound like he wasn't freaking out a little.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting something…" The other boy said, leaning over the counter to look at what he was doing, definitely flirting a little. Whether it was intentional or unintentional, Blaine couldn't decide.

"No, it's fine," Blaine said, tossing the receipts to the side, scattering them a bit, "What can I get you?"

He grinned, "Could I get a nonfat mocha and a turkey sandwich?"

Blaine rang him up and just as he was about to walk away, he swallowed hard before speaking, "What's the name on that?"

He looked around the coffee shop, and Blaine suddenly felt stupid for asking for his name. They weren't busy at all. Why would anyone in their right mind ask for his name when they weren't busy? Instead, the boy just grinned, "It's Kurt."

Blaine nodded and started making his drink as he sat down and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Kurt. Well, now nonfat mocha boy had a name. Melissa would be so proud if she were working. Blaine took a deep breath as he set the drink on the counter, "Kurt?"

Kurt stood and took it, smiling, "Thanks."

"I'll have the sandwich out in a minute," Blaine replied, to which he got another smile and a nod. He was going to call Kurt's name again when it was done, but when he looked up, he could see the other boy sitting by the window, staring intently at his phone, and decided to bring it to his table instead.

When he set the plate down, Kurt smiled up at him, "Thanks again."

Blaine smiled back, "Of course." Just as he was about to walk away, he heard Kurt curse under his breath and assumed he had made the sandwich wrong, "Is everything okay?"

Kurt ran his fingers through his hair, "Yeah, it's fine… Just, my phone just died and I was trying to read an email."

"You have an iPhone?" Blaine asked without thinking.

"Yeah…" He waved it a bit, making Blaine feel stupid for a second.

"I have a charger in the back. You can use it if you want."

"You don't have to…" Kurt started, but Blaine waved his hand in dismissal.

"It's totally fine. I'll go grab it." He ran to the back room quickly and grabbed his phone charger, already excited to tell Trent about his encounter with Kurt, and kicking himself for being too nice as usual. He didn't even know the guy yet, and he was just letting him borrow his things.

When he returned, Kurt was eating his sandwich. "Thank you _so_ much," he said, plugging his phone in, "I'll bring it back when I leave."

"Sure thing," Blaine replied, turning to walk away.

"Hey," Kurt called after him, somewhat unsure of what he was doing. If Rachel were there, she would be giving him a hard time for it, and he was glad he was alone. When he turned, Kurt continued, "I didn't catch your name."

"It's Blaine," He said, smiling a half smile.

"Well, Blaine," He said, smiling back, "It's nice to meet you."


	3. 3  Harvard on the Hudson

This isn't the most exciting chapter in the world and it's definitely not my favorite, but I really didn't want to rush this story too much, so here's a little bit of boring stuff and Blaine's background! I'll make up for it with the next chapter, I promise!

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><p><em><strong>Harvard on the Hudson<strong>_

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><p>"Trent, please tell me that you're home!" Blaine called as he walked into the apartment early Sunday evening, smiling to himself.<p>

"Bathroom!" Trent called back and poked his head into the hallway, "How was work?"

Blaine dropped his messenger bag at the door and made his way down the hallway, "It was awesome. I have a story for you." When he glanced into the bathroom, Trent was adjusting a bowtie around his neck. Blaine looked him up and down, "You look nice. Where are you going?"

"I have that showcase tonight, remember?" Trent was going to school for music, and Blaine always seemed to forget when he had a concert or a musical or whatever.

"Oh yeah," Blaine replied, smiling.

"Did you want to come?" Trent asked, glancing at him again

"Sure! It sounds fun."

Trent laughed a little at how excited Blaine sounded, "Alright, I know you're dying to tell me about your day, so what happened? Did you see nonfat mocha guy?"

Blaine grinned and had to contain himself from jumping up and down like a little girl, "Yes! _And_ nonfat mocha guy has a name now."

"What is it?" Trent asked, humoring Blaine as he made his way down the hallway and to the living room so he could put his shoes on.

"Kurt," Blaine replied, smiling, "And he asked me for my name. And he used my phone charger."

"Wow, how romantic," Trent teased, tying his shoe.

"Oh shut up," Blaine said, sitting down next to him, "I know I'm acting like a little kid, but it's been a long time since I've been even remotely interested in someone."

"I know," Trent replied, "But I swear, if I see you cuddling with that phone charger, I'm staging an intervention."

Blaine rolled his eyes, "Whatever."

"But really," Trent said and looked at Blaine, suddenly serious "I'm glad you're interested in someone. But I just don't want to see you get hurt like the last time, okay? You don't even know if this guy is available."

Blaine sighed, "I know. I'll be careful." He couldn't stop his mind from drifting to the last person he dated. He had met Shawn when he first moved to New York, right after high school, and he had thought he was the one, until he found out (on Valentine's day of all days) that Shawn had a boyfriend and that he was cheating on that boyfriend with him. He shook the thought from his head, though. It was in the past, and that was exactly where it was going to stay.

"But other than that," Trent said, standing, "I'm glad you talked to nonfat mocha guy-"

"Kurt," Blaine interjected, standing as well.

"Right. I'm glad you talked to Kurt today."

Blaine smiled, "Thanks, Trent."

After their talk, Blaine changed into nicer clothes, and the two of them headed to Trent's showcase. As Blaine sat in the auditorium with other students, friends, and important people, he couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like if he had decided to go to college like Trent. When all of his friends at Dalton had been filling out applications for colleges and planning their lives, Blaine still wasn't even sure what he wanted to do with his life. He had spent most of his high school career excited to get out of Ohio, but the reality of graduating and starting his own life didn't really sink in until he saw all of his classmates getting excited about campus tours while he was just sitting at home.

It wasn't that Blaine didn't have ambition; not at all. He just didn't really know what he wanted to go to school for, and after hearing his older brother's horror stories about how much he hated it, he wasn't even sure if he _wanted_ to go to college. He knew for sure that he wanted to pursue a career in music, but he was afraid to go to college for it because he didn't want it to make him lose his passion. So instead, while everyone was planning out their lives, he was working and saving money so he could move to a new city where he'd have more of a chance of making it in the music industry.

When Blaine had heard that Trent was going to school in New York and planned on getting his own apartment (which his parents were helping him pay for, of course) Blaine asked him if he would like a roommate, and the rest was history.

So, Blaine couldn't help but feel a little awkward sitting in the crowd of Trent's classmates, and he glanced around, trying to find at least one familiar face. His eyes finally landed on a small brunette girl, and his heart sped up a little bit when he realized where he recognized her from. She was Kurt's friend, Rachel, who had been in the coffee shop with him the other day. She seemed to feel his eyes on her, because she glanced up from a conversation she was having and looked around until they met Blaine's.

Her eyes flashed with recognition, and it almost looked like she was going to get up when the lights in the auditorium dimmed and a couple of people filtered onto the stage. When Trent was done singing and the showcase was coming to a close, Blaine stood to find his roommate in the sea of people. It took a few minutes before Blaine saw the back of his head and he made his way over to the group of people he was standing with. "You did great," He said, hugging him quickly and smiling.

"Thanks!" Trent replied, looking happy.

"So I saw someone I know," Blaine said, lowering his voice.

Trent's eyes widened, "Is it coffee shop guy?"

Blaine held back on correcting him on the name, "No, but it's his friend."

"Where?" Trent asked, looking around.

Blaine laughed, "You're almost as excited as me."

"Well what if I know her?" He asked, still glancing around.

Blaine scanned the room before he saw her again and pointed her out, "There."

"Rachel?" Trent asked, looking at Blaine then back at her, "I know her. I have classes with her." He grabbed Blaine's hand, "Let's go say hi."

"Woah, why would we do that?" Blaine questioned, pulling away.

"Because maybe her friend is with her," Trent insisted, pulling him along.

Rachel grinned when she saw the pair approaching and stopped talking to the girl next to her to hug Trent, "You did great!"

He smiled, "Thanks, Rachel. How are you?"

"Great!" She replied, then glanced at Blaine, "How are you two?"

"Good," Trent replied, "This is Blaine."

Rachel shook his hand, "I believe I got coffee from you the other day, didn't I?" There wasn't any question in her voice.

Blaine smiled back, "I believe you did."

"Well it's nice to officially meet you, Blaine," She said smiling, "We should probably get to know eachother since Kurt and I come in there all the time." The way she smiled when she said the last bit said that she knew something that he didn't, but Blaine tried not to overanalyze it.

The three of them talked for a little bit before someone started calling Trent's name and they parted. "What if Kurt goes to school with you too?" Blaine whispered to Trent, as they got ready to leave.

"I don't know why you're whispering," Trent replied, "But if he does, I don't know him. I don't know a Kurt." Blaine sighed in defeat and Trent nudged him, "Hey, at least you got to meet Rachel. Now maybe it will be easier for you to figure out if coffee shop boy is available."

When Rachel walked in the door that night, she was dying to tell Kurt about who she had met. "Kurt, are you home?" She called as she kicked off her shoes.

"Hold on," Kurt called back in a half whisper, from somewhere down the hall. Rachel made a cup of tea, then sat down on the couch and turned on the TV as she waited for Kurt. "Turn it down a little," Kurt whispered, when he finally emerged from his room, "Hayden is asleep in my room."

Rachel smiled at him and turned the volume down a little, "Guess who I met tonight."

"I don't know, who?" Kurt asked, looking from the TV to her.

"Your cute barista," She said, grinning.

"That's nice," Kurt said, heart speeding up a little bit at the thought of Rachel talking to him. What if she had said something stupid? Kurt mentally kicked himself for even worrying about it and reminded himself that he had only talked to the guy a whole two times and therefore shouldn't be freaking out. Kurt swallowed hard, "But like I said, he's not _my_ cute barista."

"But he is cute," Rachel pressed, "And really sweet."

Kurt rolled his eyes, "That's nice."

"His name is Blaine," She said, still grinning.

"I know," Kurt replied before thinking about it. His hand slapped over his mouth after he spoke. He had purposely not told Rachel about meeting him because he knew that she was going to give him hell about it. Now he knew that it would be even worse because he had been hiding it from her.

"Oh really? How did you know?" Rachel asked, leaning forward, grinning.

"I got coffee earlier," Kurt replied nonchalantly.

"So you introduced yourself to him?" She pressed, smiling wider.

"Sure," Kurt replied, waving his hand dismissively.

"He's _totally_ your cute barista now," Rachel teased.

"Oh shut up," Kurt replied quickly, "He is not. I was just being polite."

"Hey I'm not saying that it's a bad thing," She said, shrugging.

"I have a boyfriend, Rachel," He insisted, annoyed, though he felt like he was reminding himself more than he was reminding her. For some reason, he found it a little hard not to think about him.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You keep telling me that," She joked back.

Kurt sighed, "That's because you don't seem to understand why we shouldn't be having this conversation. I have a boyfriend who I love and care about, and even though this Blaine guy is cute, he's just a guy who works at a coffee shop, and I would never cheat on Hayden."

"Woah, this just got serious," Rachel replied, throwing her hands up in defense, "I wasn't saying that you would ever cheat on him, I was just giving you crap. I'm sorry."

Kurt shook his head, "No, it's okay. I overreacted a little bit. I just don't want you thinking that I would ever be that kind of person."

Rachel smiled and hugged him close, "I know you're not, Kurt." When they pulled apart, she was grinning again, "He _is_ some pretty nice eye candy though, isn't he?"

Kurt laughed and swatted her away playfully, glad that the two of them never argued for long, "Oh shut up."

"You know it's true," She replied, still grinning wide.


	4. 4 I Like You

**_I Like You_**

* * *

><p>Blaine couldn't deny the fact that he hoped he would get to see Kurt as he walked to work on Tuesday morning. There was a bounce in his step as he sipped on his own coffee and wondered if he'd get the chance to talk to him or Rachel again. He knew he probably shouldn't get his hopes up, but if it helped him get through his work day, he wasn't complaining.<p>

He got to work at about six, and was happy to find Melissa there. He had been dying to tell her about Kurt. She smiled as he walked in the door, "Good morning, Blaine!"

He smiled back, "Morning. How are you?"

"Good, you?"

Blaine threw his bag in the back room then clocked in, "I'm good."

"Any developments with the cute boy?" She asked without wasting any time.

He laughed, "I was about to tell you about that. I took your advice."

"And did you figure out his name?" She asked, excited.

Blaine nodded quickly, "Yup, it's Kurt."

She raised her eyebrows, "So, did you get his number?"

He laughed, "I don't work that fast, Melissa. Hopefully he comes in again today and I'll get the chance to talk to him again. You don't know if he has a boyfriend, do you?"

"Sorry," She said, shrugging, "I don't."

"I guess I'll just have to figure that out," He said, smiling to himself.

It was about seven when Rachel and Kurt walked in, and Blaine sighed in relief because they had just barely missed the rush, which meant he could take his time making their drinks. "Hey new guy," Kurt said, smiling as he and Rachel reached the counter.

"Hey, how are you guys?" Blaine asked, smiling and glad he wasn't as nervous as he thought he was going to be.

"Great," Kurt said, looking at Rachel, then back at him, "Could I get a grande nonfat mocha and a grande white mocha for the lady?"

Blaine nodded, "Of course." As he took the money, he tried to think of something to say to keep the conversation going. "So, what are you guys up to today?" He asked, knowing it wasn't the most creative conversation starter, but figured it was at least something.

Kurt was quiet as he and Rachel shared a glance and she spoke up, "Class. We have an eight am."

"Sounds fun," Blaine replied, grabbing their cups and mentally cursing himself for not saying anything else.

"Yup," Rachel said cheerfully, apparently unfazed by Blaine's generic response, "Where do you go to school?"

Kurt trailed behind Rachel to the other end of the counter to wait for their drinks as Blaine started making them. Blaine hated trying to come up with a proper response to the question that Rachel had just asked. He always felt like no matter what he said, people judged him for being young and not being in school, like he was a failure. "I'm actually not going to school," He said carefully, "Just trying to work and figure out what I want to do."

Rachel smiled knowingly and nudged Kurt, as if to tell him to join the conversation. He coughed, "Well, this is definitely a good city to be doing that in."

Blaine smiled back as he handed his coffee to him, "It definitely is."

Kurt returned the smile then looked at Rachel as she took her coffee, "Well, we better get going. See you tomorrow Blaine." As they walked out, Blaine couldn't help but love the way his name sounded leaving Kurt's lips.

"See you tomorrow?" Rachel whispered as the door to the coffee shop closed behind them, "I thought you only got coffee in the morning when I was with you."

He shrugged, "What? I can't get coffee by myself?"

"I never said that," She argued back, sipping on her drink, "I just didn't know how often you went in there without me."

Kurt laughed, "Does it upset you?"

"No not at all," She replied, linking their arms together like usual. "How often did you go in there without me before _Blaine _worked there?" She asked, still getting used to using his real name.

He laughed again, "Does it matter?"

Rachel pretended to gasp, "It didn't until you answered my question like that."

Kurt shook his head, "I don't know Rachel. I don't keep track."

"Sure you don't," She pressed grinning up at him, "You'll have to let me know how coffee goes tomorrow morning."

Kurt rolled his eyes again, "Whatever."

Class went by quickly for Kurt, and by one that afternoon, he was waiting outside of Hayden and Rachel's last class, glad that his boyfriend and roommate had classes together. It was definitely convenient. The two of them emerged from the room together and Kurt kissed Hayden quickly before wrapping his arm around his waist. "How was class?"

Hayden glanced at Rachel who was busy texting, then back at Kurt, "Good. We have a ton of homework though."

"Lame," Kurt sighed, "Will you still be able to do something tonight?"

"Yeah, but I probably won't be able to get lunch with you tomorrow though," He said, looking at Kurt.

He shrugged, even though he was slightly disappointed. Hayden had been bailing a lot lately because of homework and classes. "It's okay. I'd rather go see a movie with you or something tonight." Usually, Kurt and Hayden had Wednesday afternoons to themselves because they each only had one class, and they'd spend their day getting lunch, shopping, or enjoying the city. Kurt was bummed that they wouldn't get to hang out, but decided it would be a good chance to get some work done too.

The next afternoon, Kurt got out of class at about eleven, and by eleven thirty, he was back at his apartment, bored and feeling uninspired. He needed to get homework for some of his classes done, but the small apartment was going to drive him nuts if he was there all day, so he decided (against his better judgment) to go get some coffee and food and work on his homework at the coffee shop. When he walked inside, he could see Blaine standing behind the counter, taking someone's order. Their eyes met over the other customer's shoulder and Blaine smiled and nodded a greeting to him, which Kurt returned.

Melissa started making a drink as the person in front of him in line sat down, and he stepped forward to order. "Grande nonfat mocha?" Blaine asked, smiling at him, and Kurt couldn't help but notice how his hazel eyes lit up.

"You know my coffee order?" Kurt asked, feeling stupid.

"Of course," Blaine returned, as if it weren't even a question, which for some reason, tugged at Kurt's heart. It was kind of adorable. He shook the thought out of his head quickly though.

Kurt smiled back at him, "Could I get a turkey sandwich too?"

"We're not really supposed to make those on Wednesdays," Blaine started, glancing over his shoulder at Melissa, "But I'll make an exception for you."

"Thank you," Kurt Replied, handing him his money.

Blaine had his coffee ready quickly and brought his sandwich to him like he had before, and just like before, Kurt stopped him as he was about to walk away. "Do you want to sit?" He asked, gesturing to the chair across from him. He knew he was probably being stupid in asking Blaine to sit, and Rachel would give him a hard time if she ever heard about it, but for some reason he didn't mind. He felt sort of rebellious, testing the waters with _his_ cute barista, but still reminded himself that nothing was going to happen.

Blaine smiled, "As much as I'd love to, my break isn't for another hour." He glanced over his shoulder at Melissa, who was eyeing them, a small smirk spread across her face.

Kurt looked around the almost empty coffee shop, then said loud enough for Melissa to hear, "Well you guys definitely look pretty busy, so I understand if your manager wouldn't let you take your break early."

Blaine looked over his shoulder again, where Melissa waved him on, "Go on, I won't tell."

He laughed, "Are you sure?"

She nodded in return, "Yeah. But if we get a rush I'll need you."

"Thanks, Mel," He replied, sitting down. He then looked over Kurt's homework and sketches, "So what are you working on?" He couldn't help but be a little nervous. It was his first time actually talking to Kurt, not as a barista, but as a friend (or an acquaintance).

"Homework," Kurt sighed, "But I'm feeling completely uninspired." He couldn't help but notice how at ease he felt around Blaine, which surprised him since he had only really talked to him a couple of times.

"It doesn't look that bad," Blaine mused, picking up one of the sketches, "Homework can't be so hard if it's just drawing."

"I wish," Kurt replied, taking a sip of his coffee, "When you're a fashion design student, this is what all of your homework looks like, and it gets old fast."

"That's awesome," Blaine said, stupidly, still looking at the sketch.

"What is? Homework getting old? Cause if you think it's awesome you can do it for me," He replied jokingly.

Blaine shook his head, feeling dumb, "No, it's awesome that you're going to school for fashion design."

"Glad you think so," Kurt joked, "Right now it's kind of sucking."

"Well hopefully being here is somewhat more inspiring than sitting at your house doing it," Blaine joked, handing the sketch back.

"Definitely," Kurt took another sip of his drink, "That's exactly why I decided to come here." It was quiet between the two of them before Kurt spoke again, "So if you're not going to school, what do you like to do in your free time?" He couldn't help but want to know more about Blaine, despite the little voice in his head screaming at him that he shouldn't care because he had a boyfriend.

Blaine smiled, "Well, I'm sort of trying to pursue a career in music. It's my passion. I play shows every once in a while, but it doesn't really pay the bills yet, so that's why I work here."

"Hey," Melissa yelled from across the room, pretending to be offended.

"And I work here because I love Melissa!" Blaine called back, earning a smile from both her and Kurt.

"Why didn't you go to school for music?" Kurt asked, continuing the conversation.

Blaine shrugged, "I don't know. I guess college just didn't really seem like my thing. That, and I was scared that I was going to lose my passion for it." He had given that answer so many times, it came easily to him. The only difference between the other times and that one, though, was that Blaine didn't feel as if Kurt was judging him for not going to school, and that was a relief.

Kurt smiled knowingly, "I know how you feel. I'm sort of feeling that way right now." He gestured toward the papers on the table and sighed.

"Then don't work on it right now," Blaine said, shrugging, "Do it while you're feeling inspired. It'll be more fun."

It was a breath of fresh air for Kurt, hearing someone tell him not to work on his homework. Rachel was always bugging him about it, and sometimes Hayden would make him finish it before they hung out because he didn't want to be the reason for Kurt being behind in class. "Maybe I will," He said, smiling at Blaine.

Their conversation was interrupted for a few minutes when a group of people walked in, but as soon as their drinks were made, Melissa waved Blaine on in Kurt's direction again. "Go," She whispered, pushing him out from behind the counter.

"But-" Blaine tried to protest, glad that Kurt hadn't looked up from his phone.

"You two are totally hitting it off," She insisted, "Go sit. I'll let you know when I need you."

Blaine shook his head in disbelief, but made his way back over to the table Kurt was sitting at, "Hey."

Kurt smiled up from his phone, "Hey. I took your advice. Look, I'm playing games instead of working." He held out his phone and Blaine could see that he was playing Angry Birds.

He laughed, "Good." He sat down, and it was quiet between them again for a moment before he spoke up, "So, I totally meant to tell you this the other day, but I really like you sweater." Blaine knew that the compliment was totally lame, but it was true. He _did_ like the shirt.

Kurt looked down at the shirt he was wearing, which just so happened to be a blue slim long sleeved shirt he had borrowed from Hayden on Sunday. He smiled, "Thanks, it's a friend's." Why he didn't tell Blaine that it was actually his _boyfriend's_ shirt was beyond him, but couldn't really take it back. Rachel would kill him if she heard about it; he just knew it. Apparently, there was a little part of Kurt that didn't want Blaine knowing that he had a boyfriend. Not yet at least.

"Well you shouldn't give it back. It's nice," Blaine said smiling nervously, and then it was quiet between them again, this time slightly more awkward because Kurt was still trying to figure out why he didn't tell Blaine that he had a boyfriend.

"So, where are you from?" Kurt asked, finally breaking the awkward silence.

"Ohio," Blaine answered, hoping he hadn't said too much by complimenting Kurt, "What about you?"

"No way!" Kurt almost squeaked, excited, "I'm from Ohio too."

Blaine's eyes widened, "What a small world. How old are you?"

"Twenty-two," Kurt replied, smiling.

"So you were a year ahead of me," Blaine mused, "Where did you go to school?"

"McKinley."

"That's in Lima, right?" Blaine asked, glad that they had something in common.

"Yup," Kurt smiled, "Where did you go?"

"Dalton Academy," Blaine replied, "It's this-"

"All boys school," Kurt finished, "I was thinking about going there during my junior year."

"Too bad you didn't," Blaine mumbled mostly to himself, but Kurt still heard him. Just as he was about to say something back, Melissa interrupted.

"Blaine, Natasha is coming in soon, so you should come back here. I don't want you to get in trouble," She called, poking her head out of the back room.

Blaine sighed, "That's our store manager. I should probably get back to work."

Kurt smiled up at him, "Well, it was good chatting with you, Blaine."

Blaine smiled back, "See you tomorrow?"

"Maybe," Kurt smirked back, and then almost smacked himself as Blaine was walking away because he had definitely been flirting with him. He waved to Melissa and Blaine as he walked out a few minutes later, carrying his unfinished homework with him. The entire walk about to his apartment, he kept reminding himself that he wasn't that kind of person. He would never, in a million years, cheat on Hayden.

But he couldn't deny the fact that Blaine was pretty charming.


	5. 5 Say It's Possible

_**Say It's Possible**_

* * *

><p>Over the next couple of weeks, Kurt would stop in to have lunch at Blaine's work whenever he wasn't busy with Rachel or Hayden. Sometimes, Blaine was too busy to join him, but Kurt didn't mind. He knew it probably wasn't a good thing, but he liked his time to himself when he stopped in for coffee or food. Though he also liked the few times when Blaine was able to sit with him for thirty minutes or so and talk to him and distract him from his homework, too. Within the first week, he learned that Blaine indeed was gay, as Rachel had assumed. And as much as a little part of Kurt was thrilled by the news, he also knew that it also had the potential make things a little more complicated (but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to care).<p>

He couldn't deny the fact that he definitely found Blaine attractive, and that he loved his company. Had Kurt been single, he would be pursuing him, but since he had a boyfriend, he decided that he'd have to settle with keeping Blaine as a friend. A friend that he flirted with every once in a while.

It took a little bit, but Kurt finally convinced himself that as long as neither he nor Blaine pursued anything, there was nothing wrong with them being friends and hanging out whenever he came in to get coffee. Kurt also made a point to never ask for Blaine's number, and it seemed like Blaine didn't want to take the risk and ask quite yet, which was probably good. He knew that eventually it would come up, and when it did, he could just politely inform him of his boyfriend. After all, there was nothing wrong with them being friends.

He hadn't told Rachel about his lunches with Blaine, though. It wasn't necessarily that he wanted to keep it a secret, but he wasn't sure how he could tell her without her giving him a hard time about it. He also hadn't mentioned it to Hayden, which he decided was okay, because he had never mentioned the coffee shop that he and Rachel frequented to him before. It wasn't like much had changed. Or at least that was what he had decided.

In the back of his mind though, he sometimes found himself wondering what it would have been like had he met Blaine first. Kurt knew that he was his type, and as they got to know eachother more, Kurt found himself wanting to know even more of his story. He also caught himself wondering what it would be like to kiss Blaine when he would stare at the other boy's lips as he talked. When he caught himself thinking such things though, he immediately shook it from his head.

Blaine was getting ready for work one Wednesday afternoon and he couldn't help but be a bit excited because he was pretty sure that Kurt had Wednesday afternoons off. He knew it probably wasn't smart to get his hopes up, but he and Kurt got along really well, and Kurt was coming in a lot more often for lunch. Whenever he came in, he would always invite Blaine to take a break and sit with him for a bit, and when he could, he would. So, needless to say, Blaine was trying to look nice for work, hoping that Kurt would come in.

Trent was sitting in the living room doing homework and watching Blaine run from his bedroom to the bathroom and back when he finally decided to speak up, "Blaine, I don't know if you've heard of this thing called jogging, but it's a lot easier than running up and down our hallway, if you needed exercise or something…"

Blaine stopped halfway in between the bathroom and his room wearing a different shirt than he had been wearing the last time he had emerged from his room, and was holding another one in his hand. He seemed to ignore Trent's comment, "Which one do you like better?"

Trent sighed, "Aren't you going to have to wear an apron over it anyway?"

"I think I like the black one," Blaine said, ignoring him again.

This time Trent stood, "Blaine, what is going on?"

He sighed, "I'm trying to get ready for work. I have to leave in five minutes."

Trent eyed him warily, "You look ready to me."

Blaine turned and tossed the other shirt into his room then walked past Trent and into the living room to put his shoes on, "I know… I just kinda wanted to look nice today."

"Hot date?" Trent joked.

"Very funny," Blaine sighed out, grabbing his shoes and sitting down. Trent had heard all about Blaine's lunch dates with Kurt and enjoyed giving him a hard time about it.

"How do you even know he's coming in today, anyway? I thought you hadn't worked up the courage to ask for his number yet," Trent asked, sitting next to him.

Blaine ignored the second comment, but answered his question, "I think he has Wednesday afternoons off. And I was thinking of asking him out to lunch or something today."

"Wow, as if you guys haven't done that before," Trent joked again and Blaine shot him a look. "Sorry, I just like giving you a hard time," He said, grinning.

Blaine smiled back, "Yeah I know. And you're really good at it." He stood and looked himself over one last time in the bathroom before walking back into the living room, "Wish me luck."

"Have a good day at work," Trent called after him down the hallway, to which Blaine just shook his head. As comical as it seemed that he had a crush on a regular at his work, he couldn't deny that he really did like Kurt, and wanted to go on a proper date with him instead of just talking to him for thirty minutes during work.

Blaine got to work, where Melissa was waiting for him expectantly, a smile plastered on her face. "Are you going to ask him out today?" She asked as Blaine clocked in.

"If I don't chicken out, yes," Blaine replied, smiling

"Good! It's about damn time you got some," She exclaimed, then giggled when she realized that a couple of customers had heard her.

"Thanks, Melissa, that makes me feel much better," He said quietly, shaking his head.

She laughed again, "I'm just kidding." A small group of people walked in and the two of them made their drinks before Melissa turned to him again, "So my friend who works at a local venue told me to ask you if you wanted to play a show in a couple of weeks. One of the bands bailed and they needed to fill a spot."

Blaine smiled in her direction, "You know I'm always looking for new shows. Just let me know when and where."

She smiled back, "Will do."

The two of them went back to work cleaning the store since it was slow, and as they did, Blaine watched the clock. Soon it was noon, then one, then one-thirty, and he was starting to suspect that Kurt might not be coming in. By two, he was sitting on the counter, bored because they had run out of things to do and disappointed because Kurt still hadn't showed up.

"Maybe he had a lot of homework," Melissa offered, jumping up and sitting on the counter next to him.

He sighed, "Yeah, probably. I just feel stupid for getting my hopes up for nothing."

She put her arm around him and smiled reassuringly, "It's not like he's never going to come in here again, Blaine. You'll have another shot."

"Yeah I guess," He replied, somewhat defeated.

Blaine pulled himself out of bed at six the next morning and showered quickly. Unlike the morning before, he ran a comb quickly through his hair without worrying about it too much and grabbed a clean shirt from his room and threw it on. As much as he wanted to look nice for work (or for Kurt, if he came in) Blaine didn't want to get let down again.

He headed out the door with still semi damp hair and ran his hand through it a few times, trying to dry it a little before he got to work. Melissa was there before him again, like usual, and she grinned when he walked in the door, "I like it when your hair is like that."

"Like what?" Blaine asked, running his hand through it again, wondering what he had done to it.

"Normal," She replied, "I mean, it looks nice gelled too, but I like seeing your curly hair."

He smiled in return, "Thanks."

Work went by quickly, which Blaine was thankful for, and they were busy up until about eight-thirty. Blaine was looking down, cleaning up a spilled coffee on the counter, when Melissa nudged him and tried to grab his rag, "I've got this."

"No, it's fine," Blaine tried to argue, but she nudged him again.

"Someone is here for you," She whispered, motioning for Blaine to look up.

And of course, there was Kurt, standing at the front of the counter, bag thrown over his shoulder, and looking sleepy. He smiled when his eyes met Blaine's though, "Hey."

Blaine smiled back and let Melissa take over cleaning, "Hey, aren't you late for class?"

Kurt nodded, "Yeah, I forgot to set my alarm and Rachel didn't have an early class this morning."

"Nonfat mocha?" Blaine asked, punching it into the computer.

"Yup," Kurt replied, and went to hand him money, but Blaine shook his head.

"This one's on the house," He said, looking up and smiling.

Kurt raised his eyebrows, "Are you sure?"

Blaine nodded, "You need it."

"Thanks," Kurt replied. He watched as Blaine made his coffee and smiled when he grabbed a large cup instead of a medium one.

Blaine took a little extra time making Kurt's coffee partly because he had missed seeing him, and wanted to take advantage of the little time he had to talk to him, but mostly because he was trying to figure out the right way to ask him out on a date. Had it been the day before, he would have been prepared. He had looked nice, and he had a script all planned out in his head for when he asked Kurt, but now he was sure he didn't look his best, and he was still somewhat sleepy. When Blaine handed Kurt his coffee wordlessly and Kurt thanked him again and turned to walk away, he finally decided to speak up, "Hey Kurt?"

He turned on his heel so he was facing Blaine again, "Yes?"

Blaine cleared his throat, "Would you uhm… would you want to go get lunch sometime?" When Kurt didn't say anything he continued, nervous, "I mean, somewhere that isn't here, of course…"

Kurt smiled, "Yeah, sure. That sounds fun." He wasn't quite sure why in the world he had said yes. He knew that if he went out to lunch with Blaine, it would take him out of his little comfort zone he had built, but he couldn't say no. Not to mention, he had promised himself that if Blaine asked him out or asked for his number, he would tell him about his boyfriend. "How does Monday sound?"

Blaine smiled back, relieved that Kurt had said yes, "That sounds great."

"Great," Kurt replied, still grinning, "Meet me here at noon?"

Blaine nodded, "Yeah, noon sounds good."

Kurt turned back around and waved as he walked out, "See you Monday Blaine."

The second the door shut and Kurt was out of sight, Blaine and Melissa were practically jumping up and down together. "I can't believe he said yes," Blaine breathed out, excited.

"And I'm going to be working then, so you have to come early so I can make sure you look good," She replied.

Blaine laughed, "Naturally."

Though Blaine was excited for Monday, Kurt was mentally freaking out on his walk to class that morning after Blaine had asked him out. And during class. And after class. He wanted so badly to tell Rachel about what had happened but he knew that all he was going to get was a big "I told you so" followed by her teasing him and then finally a serious talk about why it would be wrong to go to lunch with Blaine if he had any feelings for him at all, and especially if Blaine thought it was a date while Kurt thought it was a "just friends" sort of thing.

Kurt managed to get it off of his mind for most of the day Saturday by hanging out with Rachel and Hayden, but Sunday, he was left alone with his thoughts. Rachel was out with some boy, and Hayden had homework, and normally he would have taken the opportunity to go say hi to Blaine, but he couldn't. He knew if he went and saw him now, it would mess with his mind even more. Kurt tried to keep himself occupied with homework, and when that didn't work, he tried catching up on TV shows he had missed. When neither proved successful, he picked up his phone to call someone who would hopefully know what to tell him.

It rang twice before Mercedes answered, "Kurt! What's up?"

He smiled to himself at her familiar voice, "Hey Mercedes. Are you busy?"

"Nope," She replied, and he was suddenly very glad that he and Mercedes had stayed close even though they were in different states.

"I need some advice," He said slowly and he could hear a door click shut on the other end of the phone.

"Alright, shoot."

He sighed, "Okay, it's kind of a long story, so I'll try to shorten it."

"I have time," Mercedes said, still sounding cheerful.

"Alright," Kurt took a deep breath, "So. About a month ago, this new guy started working at this coffee shop that Rachel and I go to all of the time… And I'm not going to lie. He's pretty cute."

Mercedes laughed, "Okay…"

"Well, since I go in there all the time, I've gotten to know him better. Sometimes I'll go in for lunch and he'll take his break and hang out with me, but it's always been a 'just friends' type of thing. And then yesterday he asked me if I'd like to go get lunch with him sometime…" He trailed off.

"And you said yes," Mercedes finished, guessing where it was heading.

"Yeah," Kurt sighed.

"And he's gay?"

"Yeah," Kurt repeated.

"Well what do you think of him?" She asked, trying to figure out what he needed help with.

Kurt ran his hand through his hair nervously, "I don't know. I mean, he's really nice. And he's definitely good looking. He's from Ohio, too. I guess we have a lot in common."

"So do you like him?" She asked simply.

"I don't know…" He replied, "I mean I guess a little, but I don't know him that well."

Mercedes was quiet for a second, "Does he know that you have a boyfriend?"

"No."

"Why not?" She asked, and Kurt wanted to kick himself. He had been asking himself that ever since Blaine had complimented him on Hayden's sweater. He had multiple chances to tell Blaine that he had a boyfriend, yet never did, and he didn't know why.

"I don't know…"

"I do," She replied simply, "It's because you _do_ like him. If you weren't interested, you would have had no problem telling him that you were taken."

Of course. It made perfect sense when someone else said it. Kurt sighed, "So what do I do?"

"When are you supposed to get lunch with him?" She asked, instead of answering his question.

"Tomorrow."

"Well, take it from someone who has cheated before, Kurt. If you feel like you'd have to hide the fact that you're going to lunch with…"

"Blaine," Kurt supplied, realizing that he hadn't told her his name yet.

"Right," She continued, "If you feel like you'd have to hide the fact that you're going to lunch with _Blaine_ from Hayden, then you might as well already be cheating on him. If you're already lying to him, Kurt, it's just going to lead to bad things. Now, I'm not telling you what to do, but if you think that you can't _just_ be friends with Blaine without it leading to something more, you need to figure out what and who it is that you want, because it's not fair to either of them."

"Shit…" Kurt sighed, realizing that Mercedes was probably right.

"I didn't mean to be harsh," She continued, "But you asked for my advice and that's it."

"No, you're right, Mercedes," He said softly, "Thank you. That's what I needed to hear."


	6. 6 Blindsided

_**Blindsided**_

* * *

><p>Blaine was up early on Monday morning, even though he wasn't meeting Kurt until noon. He felt like a little kid on Christmas because he couldn't sleep – he was too excited. When he made his way out of his room, Trent was in the Kitchen, eating breakfast. He half waved sleepily at Blaine, "You're up early. I thought you didn't work this morning."<p>

Blaine sat down next to him at the table, "I don't."

Trent grinned, "You're excited, aren't you?"

Blaine couldn't hold back his smile, "I know I shouldn't be this excited about a friendly lunch date, but I can't help it."

"Well, let me know how it goes," Trent said, standing.

"Even if you didn't want to know, I was going to tell you," Blaine joked, grabbing a piece of bacon that he had left on his plate.

Trent shook his head, "I'll see you later. I have class until three."

After Tent left, Blaine tried to keep himself occupied by watching TV, and when that didn't work, he even attempted to start working on a new song. It had been a while since he played his guitar, and since he had a show coming up (thanks to Melissa) he needed to practice. Even that didn't keep him occupied for very long though, and by nine-thirty, Blaine decided he might as well shower and try to get ready, because he figured it was going to take a while to figure out what to wear.

Standing in his bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and wet hair, Blaine realized that Kurt had never seen him out of work clothes and was suddenly overcome with an irrational fear that he might not like the way he dressed. Kurt was a fashion design student, after all, and Blaine just wore whatever he thought was cool and didn't really pay attention to trends. He found himself staring into his closet, freaking out, and send a quick text to Melissa. _"Bowtie or no bowtie?"_

Within thirty seconds, his phone was ringing, "Hello?"

"Hey," Melissa's comforting voice drifted through the phone, "I can't really talk, but just come early, and bring a few different changes of clothes and I'll help you pick something."

Blaine smiled, "Thank you, Melissa. Trent would probably just make fun of me."

She laughed, "I'll see you soon, Blaine."

By eleven-fifteen, Blaine was walking out of his apartment with his messenger bag, which had two shirts, a cardigan, a pair of jeans, and about three different bow ties in it. When he walked in the coffee shop, he was thankful that they weren't busy. Melissa motioned for him to follow her behind the counter and into the backroom. "Alright, so what do you have?" She asked, looking at him expectantly, "And why did you do your hair? I like it when it's curly."

Blaine glanced at his perfectly gelled hair in the mirror and smiled a half smile, "I'm sorry, I was bored and nervous."

She laughed, "It's okay. You look fine."

Blaine breathed out a sigh of relief and set his bag on the table, "Alright, so I have a cardigan, a few different shirts, and a different pair of jeans…"

"And of course, some bow ties," Melissa finished jokingly, pulling them out of the bag.

Blaine grinned, "Of course. So what do you think I should wear?"

"Keep it simple," She said, pulling out a striped long sleeve shirt from the bag, "Wear this, and the gray pants you put in there. You'll look great."

Blaine raised his eyebrows, "That's it?"

"Had you not been so nervous, you probably would have picked the same outfit," She replied, shaking her head, "You change, and I'll go make you a drink."

Blaine laughed, "Thank you. Again." She waved her hand dismissively as she walked back into the store, leaving Blaine to change by himself. Once he was dressed, he checked himself over in the mirror, then made his way out of the back room, "Can I leave my stuff there until later?"

She nodded and handed him his drink, "Yup. Now, you need to relax. We don't want you all nervous when he shows up, okay?"

Blaine let out a deep breath, "Right. Relax." He glanced up at the clock and sighed. He still had fifteen minutes to wait for Kurt. While anyone else might have thought that it was good that he had time to relax, it only made him more nervous. What if Kurt saw that he had finished his coffee by the time he got there and knew that Blaine had been waiting? He didn't want to seem desperate. Or what if Kurt was late and Blaine had to wait even longer while he freaked out?

"Relax," Melissa called from behind the counter, which made Blaine realize that he was gripping his cup too tight. He let out another big sigh and set his cup down, trying to do as she said.

When the clock hit noon, Blaine and Melissa shared a glance then looked toward the door. When Kurt didn't walk through it after a few moments, Melissa walked over to Blaine's table and sat down across from him. "Don't freak out," She said reassuringly and grabbed his hands, "It's just now noon."

Blaine nodded, "I know."

The two of them sat together for another fifteen minutes, and when he still wasn't there, Blaine started to get worried and Melissa couldn't blame him. "Do you have his number?" She asked, glancing toward the door again, "Maybe you should call him and see where he is."

Blaine's head fell to his hands, "No, I don't have his number. God, I'm so stupid. I didn't even ask for his number." Blaine was kicking himself for being so inexperienced at dating. Sure, he had been in a handful of relationships, but they all just kind of happened. He didn't have to work hard or worry if the other person liked him.

"Well don't freak out just yet. Give it another fifteen minutes," She said, lifting his head up.

Blaine knew that she was just trying to make him feel better, but he humored her. The next fifteen minutes went by painfully slow, and the entire time Blaine was beating himself up over it. He had really thought that Kurt liked him back, but now he wasn't so sure and he couldn't figure out what he had done wrong. They sat together until twelve-thirty, when Melissa turned to Blaine, "I'm so sorry, hun."

"He bailed," Blaine said numbly, "Why would he bail?"

"Maybe something happened," Melissa offered but she knew it probably wouldn't matter.

Blaine looked down, "I just don't get it. I didn't do anything wrong, did I?"

"Not at all."

"Then I don't get why he didn't show…" He sighed and stood, "I should probably go home. I don't wanna bother you with this."

"Blaine it's fine, you can stay," She insisted, but Blaine was already standing up and heading to the back room to get his things.

When he emerged, he waved in her direction, "I'll see you later, Melissa. I just probably shouldn't be here right now." She sighed in defeat, but waved him on his way.

Though he knew he should be out doing things to get his mind off of it, Blaine sat at home the rest of the afternoon, feeling sorry for himself. He tried telling himself multiple times that it wasn't that big of a deal – that it wasn't even a real date – or that maybe an emergency came up and Kurt had a good excuse as to why he couldn't make it, but no matter what he tried, he still couldn't help but feel that Kurt had bailed on purpose.

At about three-thirty, Trent walked in the door, his cheerful normal self. When he saw Blaine sitting in the living room watching a movie, he threw his coat and bag on the kitchen table and started to walk over, "How was lunch?"

Blaine was silent for a moment before answering, "It didn't happen."

"What?" Trent asked, sitting down on the other couch so he could look at Blaine, "Why not?"

He shrugged, "Dunno. He never showed."

"Are you kidding me?" He couldn't help but be a bit angry at this Kurt guy. Blaine had been so excited when he woke up. Not to mention, Blaine needed a good guy after his last relationship. Not some dick who was going to bail on him all the time.

Blaine turned to Trent, "Man, I just thought that finally I had found someone cool that I could get along with and maybe date, but I guess I was wrong."

Trent shook his head, "Well, fuck that guy. He just gave up something awesome."

Blaine sighed, "Yeah, I guess…"

"Please don't beat yourself up over it," Trent said, "I know what you're doing. You always blame yourself, and it's not your fault. He's the asshole that bailed on you. Don't take the blame like you always do."

Blaine knew he was probably right, but he just sighed again, "Yeah…"

"You need a beer," Trent declared, standing. He crossed the room in a few steps and grabbed two beers out of the fridge and opened them both before returning to the living room and handing one to Blaine, "Get your mind off of it. I hate seeing you bummed."

Blaine smiled a half smile, "Thanks, Trent."

It was about twelve-fifteen that afternoon, and Kurt still hadn't left his apartment. He was completely dressed and ready to out, but was pacing back and forth in his kitchen instead. He knew that Mercedes would tell him that he did the right thing, but he wasn't so sure. Blaine was a really nice guy, and he was sure that by now, he was sitting at the coffee shop by himself, feeling pretty shitty. Kurt hated to do that to him, but once again, it was probably the right thing.

As he paced, he felt more and more guilty about not showing up, though. Lunch could have been his chance to tell Blaine about Hayden, and to establish that they could only be friends. He turned on his heel again, wondering if he should go. If he ran, he could be there by twelve-thirty. But Blaine would probably be gone by then. There was no way that he would stick around for that long.

Kurt felt like an asshole. He knew what it felt like to get let down, and it didn't feel good. He knew he was doing exactly that to Blaine. He wanted to call Mercedes and talk to her about it, but he knew that she would just say the same thing. Kurt sighed, picked up his phone, and dialed Rachel's number. She answered after a couple of rings, "Kurt, you're lucky I just got out of class, what's up?"

"When is your next class?" He asked, trying not to sound upset but knew there was no fooling Rachel.

"In fifteen minutes, but it's just English. I can ditch it if you need me. What's wrong?"

Kurt smiled, glad that he had such a good friend in Rachel, and glad that she had finally decided that ditching class every once in a while was okay. "If you could, that would be great."

"What's going on?" She asked, concerned.

"It's nothing too big," Kurt assured, "I just need someone to talk to."

"I'll be there in fifteen," She said quickly before hanging up.

Kurt tried to relax while he waited, but knew it was useless. He was just going to get worked up and upset as soon as he had to explain everything to Rachel. She was there in only five minutes, too, smiling when Kurt gave her a weird look as she walked in the door, "I got a ride." She sat down on the couch next to Kurt and turned to him, "Alright, what's going on?"

Kurt sighed, "Do you promise not to give me too much shit about it?"

She nodded, serious, "Of course."

He nodded back, "Okay. Well, I haven't been telling you this, because I didn't want you to give me a hard time about it, but I've been hanging out with Blaine while he works whenever I'm free."

Rachel raised her eyebrows, "Oh really?"

Kurt smiled at her reaction, but continued, "And well, I've been getting to know him pretty well, and he's really cool. And the other day, he asked me to go to lunch with him and I said yes." Her eyes widened, but she let him continue, "I was supposed to meet him at noon today, but obviously I didn't show up."

"Okay…" Rachel said, not quite getting it, "What are you trying to tell me?"

Kurt sighed, "I don't know. I guess you were right when you said that I had a crush on him. He's really cute and he's a total sweetheart. If I was single, I'd definitely want to date him."

"But you're not," Rachel finished, and Kurt nodded. Rachel was sort of bummed out by that. She really liked Blaine, and knew he would probably be perfect for Kurt, if only he was single.

"Exactly. But I'm not," He looked down, "And Blaine doesn't really know that."

Her eyes widened, "You mean you didn't tell him?"

Kurt shook his head no, "I talked to Mercedes about it yesterday because I was feeling torn, and she told me that I shouldn't go to lunch with him because she could tell that I had feelings for him."

"You told Mercedes and not me?" Rachel asked, half offended, but it disappeared when she saw the look on Kurt's face, "Well if you thought you were doing the right thing by not going, why do you feel so bad?"

Kurt sighed, "I don't know, I'm trying to figure that out… I guess because I'm sure he feels like shit right now, and I definitely didn't want to do that to him," He paused, "But at the same time, I didn't want to out to lunch with him and do something stupid and hurt Hayden."

Rachel hummed in agreement and was quiet for a second before speaking again, "Well, would you still want to be friends with him? Do you think you could be friends with him without wanting more?"

"I would like to think I can," Kurt replied, looking down, "But he probably thinks I'm a total asshole right now."

Rachel put her hand on his shoulder, "Well give it a few days, and then go apologize to him. And tell him the truth."

Kurt nodded, "Alright."

"But Kurt," Rachel added, "If you don't feel like you can be friends with him without wanting something more, then don't. I don't want you to do something you'll regret. And I don't want to see you get hurt."

Kurt nodded again, "Thanks, Rahcel."

She smiled, "Anytime. But next time you're having some moral dilemma and you call Mercedes first, don't be surprised if I'm offended."

Kurt laughed, "Right."

Rachel knew it would take Kurt a couple of days to get the courage to talk to Blaine anyway, so in the mean time, she decided to take matters into her own hands. As much as she liked Hayden and thought that he and Kurt were good together, there was just something off about him that she just couldn't place a finger on, but she didn't like it. And then there was something about Blaine that she really liked. She almost wished Kurt had met him sooner, because they would have been perfect for eachother.

Tuesday afternoon, Rachel made up some excuse as to why she wouldn't be home, and made her way to their coffee shop. Thankfully, when she walked inside Blaine was working. He smiled when she walked in, but she could tell it was somewhat forced, like he had been expecting Kurt to be with her. She smiled sweetly back when she reached the counter, "Hey Blaine."

"What can I get you, Rachel?" Blaine asked nicely, ready to type it into the computer.

"Actually," Rachel said slowly, glancing around the store, "I came in to talk to you."

He raised an eyebrow in response, "About what?"

"Could you take a break really fast?"

Blaine glanced toward the back room where Melissa was sitting. She must have overheard the conversation, because she waved him on his way and stood up to take over his spot. The two of them headed outside and sat down at a little table in front of the store. "So," Rachel started, "I heard you were supposed to go to lunch with Kurt yesterday."

Blaine had really been trying not to think about it. "Yeah… That didn't really happen."

"I know," Rachel said, "And I'm sorry Kurt was an idiot about bailing. I'm sure he'll come around."

"Why are you telling me this?" Blaine asked, confused as to why Rachel was there apologizing for him.

"Because I think he's just kind of confused about what he wants right now…" She sighed, "I actually probably shouldn't be here doing this, and I feel guilty, but I sort of want you two to end up together." When Blaine's eyebrows just raised, she continued, "I feel like you're the kind of guy that Kurt should end up with. I know I don't know you all that well, Blaine, but it's just this gut feeling. And I want him to be happy."

"Once again, why are you telling me this?" He asked, still not sure what she was getting at, but a little happy that she was rooting for them.

"Because I know you like him, Blaine. I see you light up when we walk in that door in the morning. And I know he likes you a little bit too. So… just don't give up on him."

Despite the fact that it was sort of weird that Rachel felt the need to tell him everything having only talked a couple of times, Blaine was sort of relieved. Maybe there was more of a chance of something happening with Kurt than he had thought. And now, he knew for sure that Kurt liked him back, even if it was just a little. He smiled, "Thank you, Rachel."

She smiled back, "I know, you must think I'm insane, but you're welcome." She then handed him a little piece of paper, "This is my number. Call me if you need anything." Blaine quickly saved the number in his phone and called it so she had his as well, and then they parted ways.

Kurt did as Rachel had instructed and waited a few days to go back into the coffee shop. They avoided it on both Tuesday and Wednesday morning and made their coffee at home, even though it definitely didn't compare. After school on Wednesday, Kurt and Hayden went out to lunch together, but Hayden went home early to do homework, leaving Kurt alone in his apartment to think about things. He knew he loved Hayden, and would never want to do anything to hurt him, but he also liked Blaine. He just hoped that he could keep Blaine as a friend without anything backfiring. That evening, Kurt finally decided that he should go talk to Blaine and headed out the door and towards the coffee shop, hoping he was working.

As Kurt rounded the corner to his favorite coffee shop, he noticed someone walking out the door and immediately recognized him as Blaine. He quickened his pace when Blaine turned to walk the other way, "Blaine!"

He turned to see who had called his name, and when he saw Kurt, Blaine's eyes flashed with both hurt and excitement. He swallowed, "Hey Kurt."

Kurt closed the big gap in between them in a few strides so they were only standing a few feet away. He took a second to catch his breath, and looked up at Blaine, who he couldn't deny was looking cute. Kurt had never seen him out of his work uniform, and he liked what he saw. Blaine was wearing a light gray cardigan, a black shirt and a red bow tie. He hadn't realized he had been staring, and spoke when he realized that Blaine was looking at him expectantly, "Hey."

"Hey," Blaine repeated, waiting for Kurt to be the first one to say something. His entire life, he was the type of person to see the best in people. He always gave them a chance to prove themselves before he got angry in any way. A lot of the time it was his downfall, but he knew that Kurt deserved a chance to explain himself, especially after what Rachel had told him.

"I owe you an apology," Kurt finally got out, hoping that Blaine wasn't too angry. When he didn't say anything in return, he continued, "I bailed on you on Monday, and I'm really sorry. It was a dick move."

Blaine raised his eyebrows in response. He didn't want to seem rude, but he had to know what the excuse was, since Rachel hadn't told him, "Can I ask why?"

"That's kinda what I came here to explain," Kurt said, looking down and shuffling his feet, "Do you want to go in and sit?"

"I actually just got off," Blaine said, looking inside where Melissa was standing behind the counter, watching the show, of course, "I'd rather just stay out here."

Kurt nodded, "Alright. Well, it's kind of complicated. And stupid, on my part." Blaine waited for him to go on, so he took a deep breath and continued, "I really did want to show up, but I didn't know if it was the best idea." He sighed, "I haven't been completely honest with you, Blaine. I really do like you, and I would love to still hang out or be friends, but I have a boyfriend. I bailed because I didn't want to lead you, or myself on."

Blaine sighed. Of course he had a boyfriend. And he still wanted to be friends. As much as Blaine wanted to tell him to fuck off, he couldn't. And as much as he wanted to yell at Rachel for getting his hopes up, he couldn't. He couldn't do that to anyone. Some people, mostly Trent, would call him a pushover for things like that, but he didn't think it was a bad quality. Besides, he really liked Kurt, and he didn't have a whole ton of friends in New York. He figured if he couldn't have a boyfriend, at least he could have another friend to hang out with. "It's fine," He said quietly.

Kurt waited to see if Blaine would get angry or yell at him, but instead he just stood there and seemed to accept it. And for some reason, that made things so much harder. "Are you sure?" Kurt asked, still watching him.

Blaine nodded, "Yeah. I completely understand. Thanks for being honest with me, Kurt."

And there it was again. Instead of getting mad like any other sane person would, Blaine just took it. He was really such a good person, and Kurt could tell that he had probably heard something along the lines of what he had just said to him before. It was as if he was so used to getting hurt, that he just accepted it, and for some reason, Kurt just wanted to grab him and kiss him and tell him that it was going to be okay. But he couldn't, because that's not what _friends_ do.

Instead, Kurt smiled at him, "See you tomorrow morning?"

Blaine managed to smile back, "Sounds good."


	7. 7 The Cave

_**The Cave**_

* * *

><p>"I would have yelled at him if I were you," Trent said, opening a beer for himself and one for Blaine Wednesday night when he got home. Blaine was sitting on the couch, working on a new song and telling Trent about what had happened between him and Kurt. He sat down and handed Blaine the beer and waited for him to respond.<p>

Blaine finished writing a line before looking up, "I couldn't just yell at him. I'm not like that."

"You need to be, sometimes," Trent argued, "It sucks to see you get pushed around."

Blaine sighed, "Well, sorry. I don't think it will do me any good if I'm an asshole."

Trent shook his head, "I'm not saying you have to be an asshole. You just need to stand your ground. I mean, when you found out that Shawn had been cheating on his boyfriend with you, you just told him not to talk to you. You didn't even yell it."

Blaine laughed, "I'm sorry if I'm not rude enough for you."

"If it had been me," Trent started and paused to take a drink of his beer, "I would have told him to go fuck himself, and then told his boyfriend that he had been cheating on him."

"It wasn't my place," Blaine mumbled, thinking of another good line and writing it down. "Can we not talk about that?" He asked, turning to Trent as he set down his pen.

"See, this is what I'm talking about," Trent argued playfully, "You didn't have to ask me nicely. You could have said 'hey Trent, stop being such a dick and stop talking about my exes' but instead you were all nice about it."

Blaine shrugged, "I can't help it."

Trent shook his head, knowing it was a losing argument, and changed the subject, "So did he even say if he had any sort of feelings for you?"

Blaine took a drink of his beer and decided to close his notebook, figuring he wasn't going to get any writing done, "He said that he liked me but that he wanted to be friends."

"Ouch," Trent said, looking down, "He better be pretty damn attractive if you're putting up with that shit."

Blaine smiled at his second comment but nodded in agreement, "But then he said something about not wanting to lead me _or himself_ on. Which was weird."

"Why did he feel the need to add the second part?" Trent wondered aloud.

Blaine shrugged, "Beats me. Oh well. I don't care."

"Yes you do," Trent argued, looking up at him.

Blaine held out his beer, "Yeah, but this is helping me not care."

The rest of the week went by somewhat fast. Kurt and Rachel came in on Thursday and Friday morning, but it was back to the simple small talk and jokes when they came in, and Kurt didn't come in for lunch either day, of course. Blaine tried not to think about it too much which was easy because he was too excited for Saturday, not only because he had a show to play, but because it also meant that he was going to get out of the house and do something fun.

Once the two of them were ready on Saturday night, Blaine grabbed his guitar and he and Trent caught a cab and headed to the venue that he was playing the show at. He was the opening act, so they had to be there somewhat early, but Melissa was there to keep them company while they waited for the show to start. The three of them sat at the bar, gossiping about Blaine's "Kurt issue" as they were now calling it, and joking around with eachother until Blaine got sick of talking about himself and made his way backstage to finish getting ready.

Finally, it was seven, and a few people were starting to filter through the door. At about seven-thirty, Blaine was on stage. "Hey, I'm Blaine Anderson," He said into the mic as the room got quiet, "And I'm going to sing and stuff."

He started off his set with an old song he had written a few years back, and when it ended, everyone applauded. He smiled, glad to be back on stage, and just as he was about to start his second song, two people filtering into the back caught his eye. Of course, they were none other than Kurt and Rachel. He cleared his throat nervously before speaking again, "This one's actually a cover." And before he could look to see if Kurt or Rachel recognized him, he began playing his cover of "The Cave" by Mumford and Sons.

Kurt, who was at the back of the venue, by the bar, with Rachel, hadn't been paying attention to who was on stage until he heard them speak. "I know that voice," He mumbled, interrupting Rachel, who had been in the middle of a sentence. When he looked up, his hand flew to his mouth. "Oh my god it's him."

"No way," Rachel whispered back, trying to act surprised. She already knew it was Blaine. She had practically begged Kurt to come to the show when she found out (thanks for a friend) that some cute guy named Blaine Anderson was playing at a local show. She knew it probably wasn't her place, but she really wanted Kurt to get to know Blaine better. Secretly, she wanted them to end up together. It was quiet between the two of them for a moment before Rachel closed her eyes and smiled, "I _love_ this song."

Kurt hummed in agreement, but couldn't take his eyes off of the boy on stage. As if he couldn't find Blaine any more attractive, now he had to add great singing voice onto his list of what made Blaine perfect. Though he was sure he knew that voice from somewhere…

"His voice is really familiar," Rachel mimicked his thoughts out loud, leaning in close so Kurt could hear her. He nodded in response, but he couldn't quite place a finger on it.

The two of them watched and applauded as Blaine played and finished his set. When he was done, he made his way to the other end of the bar where Melissa and Trent were sitting. Rachel nudged Kurt, "Let's go say hi."

"But-" Kurt tried to argue, but Rachel cut him off.

"A _friend_ would go say hi…" She pushed, so the two of them stood and headed over to where Blaine was talking with his friends. "Hey Blaine, great job," Rachel said, smiling, when Kurt refused to speak up.

Blaine stopped mid sentence and looked up at the two of them before smiling fondly, "Thanks. Rachel, Kurt, you know Melissa," He said, gesturing to her, "And this is my roommate, Trent."

Rachel nodded in his direction and Kurt smiled, "Nice to meet you."

"What brings you guys here?" He asked as they sat down next to him.

"We needed something different to go do," Rachel said, looking at Kurt who still wasn't speaking, "And we heard about this show and we were close by so we figure why not." She couldn't help but be a little proud of herself because her plan was working.

Blaine smiled at them both, "Well, I'm glad you came."

It was silent for a moment and Rachel nudged Kurt, urging him to say something. "How long have you been singing?" He asked, trying his hardest not to be awkward.

Blaine and Trent smiled at eachother before he answered, "Quite a while. But I really got into it in high school."

Kurt's eyes widened in recognition, "Wait were you in-"

"The Warblers!" Rachel exclaimed, "Oh my god, we knew that voice from somewhere. You went to Dalton, right? That's what Kurt said."

Blaine and Kurt shared a glance before he answered, "Yeah, Trent and I were. How did you know?"

"Rachel and I were in glee club at McKinley," Kurt supplied, smiling.

"That's where I knew you from," Trent joined the conversation, looking at Rachel.

She smiled, "Small world, I guess."

The second band filed onto the stage, and Rachel looked at Kurt, "I'm going to go stand up there for them, do you want to come?"

He shook his head, "No, I'm fine here. I'm going to get a drink."

She shrugged and got up and so did Melissa, who decided to join her. Trent watched the girls walk away then looked back at Blaine and Kurt and patted Blaine's shoulder, "I think I'm going to go up there, too." And at that, the two of them were left sitting at the bar alone together.

"I think that might have been a plot to get us alone…" Kurt mumbled, watching Rachel who was looking at him and grinning wildly. Blaine pretended not to hear him because he wasn't sure how to respond to it, and instead ordered two drinks.

"You really did sound great up there," Kurt said, trying to start another conversation. Or at least trying not to be awkward. Rachel had been giving him a hard time the past couple of days about not talking to Blaine much or making an effort to be his friend, so he was trying.

Blaine smiled back at him, "Thanks."

It was quiet between the two of them again as the band started, and they watched in silence for two songs. After the second, Kurt leaned in and spoke up again, "You know, I meant what I said, about wanting to be friends…" When Blaine just raised his eyebrows, Kurt smiled, "I mean, we should hang out. I miss our lunches." He wasn't exactly sure why he had decided to tell him that, but there really wasn't any taking it back.

Blaine knew that he should probably just pretend that he hadn't heard Kurt over the loud music, but he couldn't deny the fact that he did miss spending time with him. "You sure you won't bail?" He teased.

"Ouch," Kurt joked, "I'm sure. Give me your phone." Blaine raised an eyebrow, but pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Kurt, who quickly typed something into it. "There," he said, handing it back, "Now you have my number. So if I try to bail on you again, you can call."

Blaine laughed, "Thanks."

"What are you doing tomorrow afternoon?" Kurt continued. Blaine shrugged in response, and Kurt smiled, "Want to do lunch?"

Blaine couldn't help but smile back, "Sure."

So of course, late the next morning, Blaine was up and getting ready to go to lunch with Kurt when Trent stopped him. He hadn't really planned on telling Trent, because he knew that he would tell him not to, so he had been trying to sneak around as he was getting ready. Trent must have noticed, though, because when Blaine was standing in his room, trying to figure out what to wear, he appeared in the doorway, "Going somewhere?"

Blaine jumped at his voice, then turned and smiled slightly at him, "Maybe."

Trent pretended to gasp, "You're totally going to hang out with Kurt, aren't you?"

Blaine decided on a navy sweater to wear with his gray pants and threw the other shirt options back on his dresser before mumbling, "Maybe."

Trent entered the room and sat on Blaine's bed, shaking his head, "You better be careful. I don't want you getting hurt. _Again_."

"I know," Blaine reassured, "Don't worry, he made it very clear that we were going to hang out just as friends."

Trent raised his eyebrows, "Alright. Well let me know how it goes."

Blaine and Kurt had agreed to meet at the coffee shop at noon (again) and Blaine refused to come off as needy, so he left the apartment fifteen minutes before noon so he wouldn't have to wait. As he walked down the busy sidewalk, he reminded himself that it wasn't a date and not to get his hopes up for anything special. To his surprise when he walked in the door, Kurt was already sitting at his usual table, waiting. He stood and grabbed a messenger bag that was at his side when he saw Blaine and smiled, "Hey."

"You're actually here," Blaine joked, to which Kurt shook his head.

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

"Nope," Blaine replied playfully, "So where do you want to go?"

Kurt shrugged, "There's a cool pizza place down the street, if you wanna do that."

Blaine agreed, and the two of them headed out the door and down the sidewalk together. As they walked, Blaine couldn't help but notice the outfit Kurt was wearing – skin tight black jeans, a tight fitting light gray sweater, and tall combat boots. The outfit was similar to the one he had been wearing the night before, and Blaine couldn't deny that he looked really good in it.

Kurt must have noticed Blaine staring, and he looked up and smiled nervously at him before grabbing his hand and turning a corner, "This way." He kept the grip on Blaine's hand as he pulled him playfully down the street to their destination, which Blaine definitely didn't mind. He realized that he had never actually touched Kurt before, and his heart thrilled at the idea.

It wasn't until they were standing outside of a small restaurant that Kurt realized he was still holding Blaine's hand, and he dropped it as if it were on fire, mentally kicking himself for it. "We're here," he managed to choke out.

They ate together, mostly quiet except for some small talk about Blaine's music and Kurt's school, and just as they were finishing, Kurt's phone buzzed on the table. He glanced at it and cursed under his breath before picking it up and typing out a text.

"Everything okay?" Blaine asked, watching at Kurt typed quickly on his phone.

Kurt sighed, "Yeah, I just forgot that I had one of Hayden's books in my bag and he needs it for his homework." Blaine raised his eyebrow at the new name. "My boyfriend," Kurt informed him, still texting.

The word was like a slap in the face to Blaine, but he figured he might as well get used to it if he was going to be _friends_ with Kurt, "Do you need to go drop it off?"

Kurt looked up from his phone, studying Blaine for a second, "Well, I mean… I can do it later. I don't want to make it, you know, awkward or anything…" He trailed off, hoping that he hadn't said too much.

Blaine smiled, even though he really didn't want to, "No, it's totally fine."

"Are you sure?" Kurt asked, eyeing him warily and when Blaine nodded, he finished typing out his text. There it was again – Blaine should have gotten mad at him, or at least seemed upset, but instead he was insisting that everything was fine. It broke Kurt's heart to see him do that, and he couldn't help but wonder what had made him that way.

The two of them stood and headed out the door together a few minutes later and Kurt led the way to Hayden's apartment, which thankfully, was just down the street. Blaine followed him into the apartment building and up a few flights of stairs before they reached the door that Kurt was looking for. He glanced back at Blaine, as if he was asking if it was okay, and when Blaine just smiled, Kurt knocked.

The door opened after a few seconds, revealing a tall, slender boy with short dark hair and brown eyes. He was wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt, and looked like he was probably studying. He was definitely attractive, and Blaine could tell why Kurt was dating at him. Kurt leaned in and kissed him quickly before turning to Blaine, "Hayden, this is Blaine. Blaine, this is my boyfriend, Hayden."

They shook hands, and Blaine managed to choke out a polite, "It's nice to meet you."

Hayden smiled warmly at him, which told Blaine that Kurt probably hadn't mentioned that Blaine had feelings for him. "You're Kurt's friend who works at the coffee shop right?"

Blaine nodded, "Yup, that would be me."

Hayden glanced at Kurt, who was internally freaking out because his boyfriend and the boy that he had a (sort of) crush on were talking, and that probably wasn't good. Thankfully, Hayden didn't see the worry in Kurt's eyes and turned back to Blaine, "Well it's about damn time he hangs out with someone besides Rachel. They see eachother enough as it is."

Blaine smiled in return, "Well, I'm glad I could help."

It was quiet for a second before Hayden sighed, "Well, I'd love to chat or go hang out with you guys, but I have a ton of homework." He then looked at Kurt and smiled, "Are you coming over later?"

Kurt really didn't want to discuss his plans with his boyfriend in front of Blaine, but he figured he might as well get used to the fact that he and Blaine were _just friends_. He nodded, "Yeah, around dinner time?"

"Sounds good," Hayden replied before kissing Kurt again quickly, "I'll see you later, babe. Nice to meet you, Blaine."

Blaine nodded in his direction, "You too."

As they walked back down the stairs, Kurt glanced at Blaine, "That wasn't awkward or anything, was it?"

"No, not at all," Blaine lied, but Kurt seemed to buy it, thankfully. As the two of them made their way back down the stairs and out onto the sidewalk again, Blaine couldn't help but wonder if maybe it had been a bad idea to hang out with Kurt afterall. As much as he wanted to keep him as a friend, he wondered if it was worth torturing himself when he saw Kurt's attractive boyfriend. Instead of voicing his concern, though, he just continued to follow a cheerful looking Kurt down the sidewalk to their next destination.

The two of them ended up sitting on a bench together in Central Park late that afternoon when they couldn't think of anywhere else to go. Finally, after a few hours, the conversation wasn't as awkward and forced as it had been earlier. "So what made you want to move to New York?" Kurt asked, kicking his feet awkwardly as they sat.

Blaine shrugged, "I guess I just needed to get the hell out of Ohio…" He thought for a second before continuing, "I knew if I wanted to pursue my dreams, I was going to have to get out and go somewhere else, so I set my sights on New York."

Kurt nodded, understanding, "I felt the same way. Rachel and I came here for nationals our junior year, and we knew that we had to move out here."

"I don't blame you," Blaine said, smiling, "I guess the only thing I have to thank Ohio for is making me stronger."

Kurt thought back to his sophomore and junior years in high school, and understood where he was coming from. Though it was awful, had it not been for people constantly picking on him and telling him that he couldn't succeed, he wouldn't have wanted to prove them wrong and do something with his life. "I know exactly what you mean. You can't be the victim."

Blaine nodded in agreement, "Exactly." It was either the way he said it, or the look on his face afterward, but Kurt knew that whatever he was talking about back in Ohio had a lot to do with the way he was. For some reason, the mystery of Blaine's past made him all the more interesting, and Kurt needed to know more.


	8. 8 A Mess to be Made

_**A Mess to be Made**_

* * *

><p>"So I didn't get to ask you last night," Trent called from the kitchen on Monday morning as he was getting ready for class and Blaine was getting ready for work, "How did lunch with Kurt go?"<p>

Blaine poked his head out of the bathroom, hair half done, "It went okay, I guess."

"You guess?"

He decided his hair could wait for a minute, and walked into the kitchen with Trent, "I mean, lunch was nice, and hanging out was nice… But I met his boyfriend."

Trent's eyes widened, "He introduced you to his _boyfriend_?"

Blaine nodded, "Yup."

"God, if that isn't friend-zoning, I don't know what is," He commented, grabbing his books.

Blaine sighed, "Well, we are supposed to be just friends, so I guess that makes sense."

"You know, you're going to find someone who actually deserves you, okay?" He reassured, putting his hand on Blaine's shoulder.

Blaine nodded, "I know. One day."

At that, Trent opened the door, "See you later."

Blaine spent the rest of the morning trying to cheer himself up for work. Before his chat with Trent, he had thought that lunch went pretty well (besides the meeting Kurt's boyfriend part) and he tried to focus on the good. If anything, he had gotten a pretty good friend out of Kurt. That was good, right?

Surprisingly, Melissa wasn't working with him that morning, which kind of bummed him out because he would have liked to talk to her about things, but he tried not to worry about it. At about seven, Kurt walked in, minus Rachel, and smiled when he saw Blaine.

"Nonfat mocha?" Blaine asked, and couldn't help but smile back at the cute boy in front of him.

"You know it," Kurt replied cheerfully and handed him the money, then waited in his normal place for Blaine to make his drink. As he watched Blaine, he couldn't help but think about the conversation that they had in the park the day before. He knew that there was a lot more to the cute barista than met the eye, and he really wanted to know more.

Kurt tried to come up with some excuse to invite Blaine somewhere, or to hang out with him again, when it came to him, "Hey, what are you doing this Saturday?"

Blaine shrugged, "Working I think, why?"

"What time?"

"Probably morning," He replied and glanced up at Kurt, wondering what he was getting at.

Kurt just smiled, "Would you want to maybe go to the bar with me and some friends?" Blaine raised his eyebrows and Kurt panicked, "What?"

He shook his head, grinning, "Nothing, you just don't seem like the type to go out drinking."

Kurt laughed, "I'm usually not. But it's a friend from school's birthday, and she insisted on bringing me. But it's going to be me and a bunch of people I don't know. And Rachel and Hayden are going to be busy that night..."

"So I'm your last choice?" Blaine joked, handing him his coffee.

"That's not what I mean," Kurt said quickly, "I just wanted to know if you'd like to hang out."

Blaine laughed, "Yeah, sure. I'd love to." Blaine's manager cleared her throat, and Blaine turned to see a couple standing at the counter, ready to order, so he waved Kurt on his way, "I'll see you Saturday."

"Where do you want to meet?" Kurt called as he backed away.

Blaine smiled, glad that he had Kurt's number, "I'll call you and we'll figure something out."

Throughout the rest of work, Blaine's mind was practically screaming at him. Part of him was certain that going out with Kurt was a terrible idea and it was only going to end badly, but the positive side of him – and the side Blaine tends to listen to – told him that things would be fine. What bad could _really_ come out of going out with Kurt and some of his friends?

That night when Trent got home, Blaine was sitting on the couch working on a new song. He sat down next to him and eyed his notebook, "Writing?"

Blaine nodded, "Mhm. How was school?"

"Fine. Boring," Trent answered, "How was work?"

Blaine smiled to himself, "Uh, it was interesting."

"Uh oh, what happened?"

Blaine set down his pen and leaned his guitar against the couch so he could properly talk to his roommate, "Well Kurt came in…"

"Of course," Trent cut in, shaking his head.

"And he asked me to go to the bar with him for his friend's birthday or something on Saturday," Blaine finished.

Trent raised an eyebrow, "Isn't that something that he should ask his _boyfriend _to do with him?"

"Apparently his boyfriend is busy," Blaine replied, to which Trent scoffed.

"You didn't say yes, did you?"

"Well," Blaine started, smiling guiltily, "I did, _but_ I told him I'd call him and let him now."

Trent smiled, "So the ball is in your court now."

He nodded, "Exactly."

"So are you going to call him?"

Blaine shrugged, "I dunno. Maybe."

"You're not fooling me," Trent teased.

"Well, I might," Blaine mused, toying with the idea, "What could it hurt?"

"Oh, I don't know, Blaine," Trent said, somewhat frustrated, "You'd only be at the bar with someone who you like. And that person doesn't necessarily have the best track record with not telling you about his boyfriend and whatnot."

"Yeah, but we're just friends, remember?" Blaine tried to argue.

"Try telling that to yourself when you're drunk, Blaine," Trent countered. Blaine wanted to agree with him, because he knew he probably wasn't the smartest person while drunk (because let's face it – nobody is) but he didn't want to back down that easily.

"I know. But I think I can handle myself. I'm not stupid."

Trent shook his head, "Alright, just don't do anything you're going to regret."

Late that night, Kurt was by himself in his apartment, making something to eat when Rachel got home from some sort of a rehearsal. All day he had been toying with the idea of telling her about his plans with Blaine on Saturday, and decided he might as well, because she was bound to figure it out sooner or later. "Hey Kurt," She said cheerfully, setting her things down then joining him in the kitchen, "Dinner?"

He nodded, "Yup."

"Smells good," She complimented before going to sit in the living room.

"Hey Rachel?" He called, figuring he might as well tell her before he chickened out.

"Yes?" She called back sweetly, turning around.

"I might have done something stupid today, but I don't know. I want your opinion."

She returned to the kitchen and sat down at a barstool on the other side of the counter, "Alright, what did you do now?"

Kurt laughed nervously, "So, you know how my friend, Ashley from class is having her birthday party this Saturday?" She nodded and Kurt continued, "Well, I kind of sort of invited Blaine to come with me since you and Hayden are going to be busy…"

Her eyes widened a bit and she was quiet for a second, trying to think of the right thing to say that wouldn't give her away. "Well," She paused, "That should be fun."

"Rachel, what are you really thinking?" He asked, seeing right through her.

"Well, I mean... Are you sure you'll be okay drinking with him? You said it yourself that you like him…"

"I know how to handle my alcohol," He mumbled, looking down, "I'm twenty-two, Rachel."

"I know that," She replied, "Just… be careful. I think he really likes you. I don't want you to give him the wrong impression if you just want to be friends."

He eyed her warily, "Don't worry, Rachel. I'll be fine."


	9. 9 My Body

_**My Body**_

* * *

><p>"<em>Meet me at my house at 10?"<em> Blaine typed out a quick text to Kurt Saturday night, somewhat nervous, but somewhat excited to go out. They had planned to meet at his apartment, since it turned out to be close to the bar that they were going to first, and Blaine had given Kurt directions earlier in the day.

His phone buzzed back almost immediately, _"Sounds good. I might call if I get lost."_

Blaine wanted to make some smartass comment about how it was near impossible to get lost because his apartment was only down the street from the coffee shop that he frequented so much, but he replied with a simple _"Okay."_

Blaine glanced in his mirror at his messy hair and toyed with the idea of doing anything with it, but decided against it. As much as he wanted to look nice, he kept reminding himself that he wasn't trying to impress anyone.

_This is a "just friends" thing. _

Blaine then walked to his bed, where he had a couple of different shirts laid out. He decided to go with a simple black v-neck (because once again, he wasn't trying to impress anyone) and threw a dark red cardigan over it. It was only nine and he mentally kicked himself for getting ready so early because now he'd have to wait. Blaine took a deep breath before turning off his bedroom light and heading into the living room, where Trent was sitting; probably ready to give him a speech about not getting to drunk around Kurt.

Sure enough, when he sat down on the couch, Trent tore his eyes off of the TV and looked Blaine up and down, "You look nice."

"Is that a bad thing?" Blaine joked, knowing where the conversation was heading.

Trent shrugged, "No. You never know. Maybe you'll meet someone while you're out."

Blaine toyed with the idea of it before replying, "I fucking hope so."

Trent laughed, "So when are you leaving?"

"Actually, Kurt is meeting me here."

"Oh really?" Trent asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes really," Blaine retorted, "And will you stop treating me like I'm making a bad decision? I'm a big boy."

Trent smiled, "I know. But I'm your friend. It's my job to give you a hard time."

Blaine rolled his eyes, "Gee, thanks." The two finally stopped bickering and turned back to the TV, and Blaine willed the hour to go by quickly. There was nothing he hated more than waiting.

_Finally_, it was ten, and Blaine was expecting Kurt any minute. And sure enough, there was a knock at the door almost exactly on time, and Blaine got up to get it. He opened the door, revealing Kurt standing on the other side. He was wearing a pair of tight gray jeans, what looked like a purple shirt, and a black peacoat. His hair was immaculate, as usual, and Blaine had to stop himself from staring.

"Come in really quick," Blaine said, stepping aside, "I just have to grab a coat."

As he fished out a jacket from the closet, Trent must have gotten up to get a beer, because he heard the fridge close and then, "Hey Kurt. I didn't think you were going to show." The tone in his voice was obviously joking, but it still caused Blaine to freeze.

He turned and shared a wide-eyed glance with Kurt before the other boy cleared his throat and spoke up, "Well, I'm here."

Trying to spare himself and Kurt more embarrassment (because apparently his roommate didn't have a filter) he darted from the closet back to the open door where Kurt was standing, "I'll see you later, Trent."

He waved in response, "Have fun tonight, kids."

The two of them left the apartment and paused outside the door, sharing another glance. Kurt was the first to break the silence, smiling, "Hey."

Blaine smiled back, "Where to?"

Kurt led the way through the chilly fall air to the bar. When they walked inside, Blaine assumed that his friends were already there, because he heard someone squeal, and then a blonde girl was wrapping him in a hug and telling him excitedly how glad she was that he made it. He introduced the birthday girl, Ashley, and all of her friends to Blaine and then ordered the first round of drinks for the group.

To Blaine's surprise – because once again, Kurt didn't really seem like much of a drinker – he seemed to handle his liquor pretty well. His friends also turned out to be really nice and funny, and before long, the group of them were laughing and drinking around the bar, enjoying eachother's company. It had been a while since Blaine had just let loose, and he was glad that Kurt had decided to bring him with. He needed it. He glanced at Kurt, who was separated from him by a couple of the girls, and their eyes met for a moment. Kurt, who had been listening to someone, seemed to forget about it and smiled warmly at Blaine before lifting his beer toward him and taking a drink. Blaine smiled back and mimicked his actions.

"So how do you know Kurt, Blaine? And why has he been keeping you from us?" Ashley asked, half hitting on Blaine and grinning when the conversation had died down.

Blaine shared another quick glance with Kurt before answering, "Actually, we only met about a month ago. I work at this coffee shop he goes to."

"Aww, how cute," She replied, nudging Kurt, still smiling. She had obviously had more to drink than the rest of the group, and Kurt held onto her arm to steady her.

The group eventually migrated to another bar down the street a few minutes later, and Kurt and Blaine walked side by side behind everyone, taking their time. "Sorry about her," he mumbled quietly, "It's her twenty first, and she doesn't really drink much."

Blaine laughed, "It's fine. Everyone has to go through it."

Kurt hummed in response and looked at Blaine, his cheeks somewhat rosy from the alcohol. He hadn't had much to drink, but he was at least buzzed. "I'm glad you came tonight."

Blaine smiled at him, "I am too."

By twelve-thirty, the majority of the group was drunk; some of the girls had wandered off or had started talking to other people at the new bar, while Ashley and the remaining girls had found a group of guys to mingle with. Blaine and Kurt, on the other hand, were sitting mostly by themselves and talking. Blaine was definitely feeling his alcohol, despite his promise earlier in the day to Trent not to drink too much, and by the way that Kurt was slurring a word every once in a while, he was too.

"I have to ask," Kurt said, breaking a silence that had formed between the two of them as they watched the rest of their group, "Why did you decide to come tonight?"

Blaine raised an eyebrow at the question, not quite sure what Kurt was getting at. "What do you mean?"

"I mean…" Kurt slurred, taking a second to put together his words, "I was an ass to you."

Blaine laughed, "You were not."

"I definitely was, Blaine."

He watched Kurt as he tried to figure out what to say in response to him. He wasn't quite sure what the point of the conversation was, but he was sure they were only having it because they were both a little tipsy, and he didn't want to say anything he'd regret. He finally shook his head, "You have a boyfriend, Kurt. The way you acted was completely justified."

"It's not your fault that I didn't tell you…" Kurt mumbled under his breath, and Blaine pretended not to hear it, hoping that would be the end of the conversation. Kurt on the other hand, was still trying to figure out why Blaine was being so nice and civil about it. He had every right to at least be a little upset, but instead, he was taking all of the blame. Once again, Kurt found himself wondering why he did that, only this time, he had enough courage to ask. "Why do you do that?"

Blaine looked up, "Do what?"

"Blame yourself," He offered, "You're doing it right now. I was an ass to you. You had every right to be upset with me, but instead to just took it. Why?"

Blaine was surprised at the question. Nobody ever questioned why he acted the way he did, and in the past, it caused him to get walked over a lot. Somehow, Kurt had seen right through it. He shrugged, "I don't like confrontations."

Kurt shook his head, "I may not know you that well, but I know that's not it."

Blaine raised his eyebrows. He planned out his next words carefully before speaking, "Kurt, are you sure you want to have this conversation while we're at a bar? And while we're drunk?"

Kurt almost looked offended at the words, "I'm not drunk. I'm buzzed." When Blaine just laughed in response, Kurt leaned forward, "Seriously, Blaine. Why?"

Blaine sighed and figured it was going to be near impossible to get Kurt to drop the subject, especially now. He really didn't want to get into a heavy conversation with him, _not here, not now_, but he didn't really see any other way around it. He hated talking about his past or his exes, but he didn't have any other choice. He sighed, "I've been in a few shitty relationships. My last one, for instance, was this guy Shawn. I was with him for a few months when I learned that apparently, I wasn't the only guy he was seeing. He had been cheating on his boyfriend of over a year with me."

Kurt raised his eyebrows, and Blaine continued, "I figured that I could have gotten mad and hurt by it and confronted him. I could have yelled at him, called him a piece of shit, or even tried to get even by telling his boyfriend about us. But I didn't. Getting angry or getting even did nothing for me because at the end of the day, I was still the loser who had really thought that I was in a serious relationship with a guy who had just been using me. So I just let it go." Blaine shrugged, "I don't see what getting mad does for anyone."

"When I came out," Blaine continued, even though he didn't have to, "My dad was really mad, for quite a while. He was a big reason why I wanted to get out of Ohio. His anger ended up tearing him and my mother apart. They're still together, but you can tell that she doesn't look at him the same way anymore because of the way he treated me. I just don't want to end up like him…" Blaine hadn't noticed that he was on the verge of crying and he looked up to stop the tears that were threatening to spill over.

"You're not your dad… And you're not a loser," Kurt managed to get out, to which Blaine just scoffed. Kurt shook his head, "That's not right, Blaine. You shouldn't just take shit like that. That's not fair."

"Yeah, well, life isn't fair," Blaine let out, and suddenly, Kurt saw a little bit of the vulnerable, angry side of him. Before, he had this wall up, he was protecting himself. Kurt wasn't sure how he had done it, but he had gotten Blaine to let a little bit of that wall down.

"Just because it isn't fair doesn't mean you should stop feeling," Kurt tried, and Blaine, who had been looking down, met his eyes. Kurt's heart clenched at the emotion in them, and it was like the first time seeing _Blaine,_ even if it was just a little bit_. _He was suddenly overcome with an urge to kiss Blaine, to tell him that he was okay, but he settled with a hug, which he gladly returned. The touch of the Blaine's skin was hot on his own, and Kurt realized that it was the first time that they had shared something like this. His face was buried in Blaine's curly hair, and he inhaled deeply without thinking about it and was suddenly surrounded by the smell of coconuts and _boy_ and he didn't want to let go. His heart sped up at Blaine's smell and his skin and his touch, and just as fast as he was there, he was gone, and Kurt was breathless.

When the two boys parted, Blaine smiled softly at him, "I feel like this just got way too intense."

Kurt laughed nervously, trying to will his body to come down from its high, "Yeah… Sorry about that."

Blaine shook his head, "No… it's okay." He never really opened up to anyone besides Trent, and it felt nice, especially with Kurt.

They sat in silence for a moment before Kurt spoke again, this time calmly, "Do you want to leave?"

Blaine glanced around the bar, quickly spotting some of the girls they had been with. "What about everyone else?"

"Ashley's a big girl," He shrugged, "Besides, it's almost one." That seemed to be enough of a reason for Blaine, and as soon as they paid their tab, they were wishing Ashley a happy birthday and heading out the door and into the cool fall air again.

"God, I love New York," Kurt breathed, watching as his breath rose, illuminated by the streetlights, then disappeared into the night sky.

Blaine nodded in agreement, "I couldn't ask for a better place to live."

Without thinking about it (maybe because he did it with Rachel so much or maybe because he just really wanted to touch Blaine again) Kurt linked their arms together as they walked. When he realized what he had done, he looked at Blaine, who was walking and looking straight ahead, and Kurt took that as a sign that he didn't mind.

They walked like that, arms linked down the sidewalk together, and Kurt sighed. For some reason, being with Blaine, even if they weren't talking, made him feel comfortable. He couldn't deny that fact that he had feelings for the boy whose arm was linked with his own, and he wanted so badly to show Blaine that not everyone was bad. He knew that there was probably more to his story (at least more than he had told him at the bar) but Kurt was willing to listen. He wanted to spend as much time as possible with Blaine, but even as the thought crossed his mind, a little voice was nagging at the back of his head.

_You have a boyfriend._

He shook the thought from his head. Even if he and Blaine couldn't be together, he could be his friend. He could still be his friend and listen to him, and help with him, and walk with him down the street, arms linked. Right?

_But you don't want to just be his friend._

Kurt tried again to shake the little voice out of his head, but it was persistent.

_You have feelings for Blaine._

Before he knew it, they were standing in Blaine's apartment building, in front of his door. Kurt let go of his arm and Blaine stood there awkwardly, kicking his foot out. "I had fun tonight."

Kurt smiled, "Yeah, me too."

He was about to say goodbye and let that be it. He really was. But then Kurt's eyes met Blaine's and he couldn't. He wasn't even aware of what he was doing until his face was inches away from Blaine's and his hand was cupping his cheek. His other hand had somehow found its way to Blaine's and their fingers had intertwined, and if it weren't for the hot breath hitting his lips, he would have thought he was in a dream. "Kurt?" Blaine's voice was soft, breathy. Had it not been silent in the hallway, he wouldn't have heard it. But he did. The end of his own name rang in his ears as he looked into Blaine's confused eyes, and before he had a chance to think, he was closing the gap.

Blaine's lips were warm and soft against his own, and he was immediately met with the welcoming scent of boy again. He sighed out through his nose as his body relaxed and took over, and everything was in slow motion. Their interlocked fingers tightened, his hand moved to the back of Blaine's neck, and he tilted his head slightly, deepening the kiss. Everything was buzzing, and before he knew it, the kiss was over, and Blaine was in front of him again, breathing heavily.

As much as the kiss had taken him by surprise, it was gone before Blaine knew it, and he wanted more. He locked eyes with Kurt, and when there was no doubt to be found, he stepped forward, initiating the second kiss. His body curved naturally with Kurt's as they kissed for the second time, more heated. The hand that had been at their sides was wrapped around Blaine waist and the other was tangled in his hair and Kurt sucked gently at his lower lip before taking it into his mouth. A small whimper escaped Blaine's mouth and his hand found its way around Kurt's waist and the other was gripping his shoulder as they kissed. The second was longer, more drawn out, and after a minute they parted, gasping for breath.

Blaine smiled slightly at Kurt as they stood together in the silence, just breathing, and Kurt's voice almost made him jump when he finally decided to speak, "I should get home. It's almost two."

Blaine nodded, suddenly aware of what had just happened and that fact that it wasn't a dream, but it was very, very real. "Yeah. Text me when you're home."

Kurt looked down, took Blaine's hand, and squeezed it before replying. "I will."

And at that, they parted. Blaine waited until he was out of sight to let himself into his apartment, and once he was inside he made his way, zombie like, to his bedroom. He kicked his shoes off, head still spinning, and found his way out of his clothes and into a pair of sweats before collapsing onto his bed.

Blaine had almost been asleep when his phone, which was still in his hand buzzed. It was a text from Kurt.

"_Home."_

Blaine typed out a response then reached over to plug in his phone and turn off his light.

"_Goodnight, Kurt."_

His phone buzzed again and he glanced at it one more time before closing his eyes.

"_Goodnight, Blaine"_


	10. 10 Please Head North

_**Please Heard North**_

* * *

><p>Blaine awoke the next morning, tangled in his blankets and feeling dehydrated after his night out with Kurt.<p>

_Kurt_.

It had seemed like a dream at the time, but now that he was awake and sober, Blaine had a moment to process what had happened the night before. Kurt had kissed him. And then he kissed Kurt.

_Oh, fuck._

So that's what Trent had meant about not doing anything he'd regret. Not that he regretted the kiss. God no. But he knew it probably wasn't the best idea. Kurt had a boyfriend.

Blaine was quickly, and thankfully, pulled out of his thoughts by Trent's voice floating down the hallway. "Blaine, if you're up there's pancakes and bacon. I'm sure you need food."

Blaine couldn't help but smile to himself. He had the best friend and roommate ever. He pulled himself out of bed slowly without bothering to throw on a shirt, and made his way slowly down the hallway. Surprisingly, he wasn't too hung-over – just thirsty and hungry. Trent glanced up from the table as Blaine entered the kitchen and smiled, "Morning."

Blaine rubbed his eyes sleepily before sitting down and returning the greeting. He managed to get away with eating a pancake and downing a glass of orange juice before Trent spoke up again, "So… how was your night?"

He shook his head at his roommate's curiosity, "It was good."

"You had fun?"

"Yeah," Blaine replied, nodding and pouring more orange juice into his glass, "Kurt's friends were all really nice."

"And Kurt?"

"It was fine, Trent," Blaine reassured. As much as he wanted to tell him what had happened, he knew that he was just going to get a big "I told you so" from him.

Somehow, probably because Blaine was sleepy and cranky and bad at lying, Trent saw right through it, "Oh my god what happened?"

Blaine shook his head, "Nothing."

"By the look on your face right now, it sure as hell doesn't look like nothing," he pressed.

Blaine was quiet for a moment, trying to decide whether or not to tell Trent what had happened. As much as he didn't want to, he could use some advice or an outside opinion. He took a deep breath, "He kissed me last night."

"I knew it!" Trent declared, almost happy that he was right, "I totally knew it."

Blaine laughed, "Do you want an award?"

Trent seemed to ignore his comment, "So what do you think about it?"

"The kiss? Well he wasn't bad, but we were both drunk so…" Blaine trailed off, joking, but by the look Trent's face, he wanted a serious answer. "I don't know." Blaine shrugged. He honestly didn't. He wanted to be happy that this incredibly attractive and _perfect_ boy liked him back and had kissed him, but at the same time, he was worried. Kurt had a boyfriend. A really good looking boyfriend. "I want to be happy, but he still has a boyfriend…"

"And you don't want to be _that_ guy again," Trent finished, taking a drink of his juice.

Blaine nodded in agreement, his mind wandering back to his last relationship, if he could even call it that. Shawn had used him for months without even taking into consideration Blaine's feelings or the fact that he had a boyfriend. On Valentine's Day, Blaine had wanted to do something with what he thought was his boyfriend. When Shawn never answered his phone, Blaine had decided to get food by himself, and that was when he had seen Shawn and his _boyfriend_ together. After telling him that he never wanted to hear from him again, Blaine had deleted his number from his phone that night and never talked to him again. It hurt too much. He had felt used, and it felt awful.

"Have you talked to him at all since last night?" Trent asked, shaking Blaine out of his thoughts.

Blaine shook his head no, "I probably shouldn't."

To Blaine's surprise, Trent just shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe you should. You have the right to know what he's feeling."

"I don't want to come between him and his boyfriend," Blaine argued quietly, and tried to go back to eating.

"He _brought_ you between him and his boyfriend when he kissed you, Blaine. I'm sick of seeing you just let yourself be pushed around. I know that's how you are, but you need to stop. It's not right."

Blaine couldn't help but feel like he had the same conversation with Kurt the night before, and he swallowed hard, "Fine. I'll call him later."

To be honest, Blaine was somewhat dreading it. He didn't want to confront Kurt. He didn't want to put him in that situation, but there was a voice (probably Trent's) in the back of his head telling him that Kurt had put himself in that situation.

It was about one or two when Trent emerged from Blaine's room with his phone in his hand and brought it to Blaine, who was in the living room watching a movie. "Call him," He insisted, sitting down next to him.

Blaine sighed, took the phone, and found Kurt's number. He sat there, just staring at the contact and trying to think of what he would say, until Trent leaned over and pressed the call button for him. Panicked, Blaine held the phone up to his ear and listened to it ring. After the fourth ring, he shook his head, "He's not going to answer." And sure enough, it went to Kurt's automated voicemail.

"What a dick," Trent sighed out.

"I'll give him a few to call back," Blaine said, setting his phone down beside him.

"You're too nice." Trent looked at him for a moment before turning to the TV when Blaine didn't argue it. He knew he was too nice. Sometimes he wished he wasn't, but he had decided that it was probably for the best.

It was about thirty minutes later when Blaine's phone buzzed and Trent almost leaped over him to read the text with him.

"_We need to talk about last night."_

Trent scoffed, "No shit."

Blaine replied quickly, _"Yeah, we do."_

He didn't get a text for a few minutes and he turned to Trent, "Should I call him again?"

"He can call you."

Instead, Blaine's phone just buzzed, signaling another text.

"_Blaine…"_

Trent shook his head in disbelief, "What, he doesn't have the balls to call you?" He was about to say something else when the phone vibrating again cut him off.

"_I was drunk."_

Blaine and Trent shared a look before Trent stood, "That's his fucking excuse?"

As Trent was standing over him, Blaine replied, _"So that didn't mean anything to you?"_

A few minutes passed, then the phone vibrated again.

"_I have a boyfriend."_

Then again.

"_I like you, Blaine. But that kiss was a mistake. I have a boyfriend. I'm sorry."_

Blaine sighed and tossed his phone to the side. "Well, that's that."

Trent grabbed his phone and read the two texts before shaking his head, "No. That's fucked up. You're really just going to take that?" Normally, Blaine would have found it comical that Trent was getting worked up enough for the two of them, but he was too _numb_.

"What else am I supposed to do?" Blaine asked, shrugging, "He has a boyfriend."

Trent held up the phone, "May I?"

"Sure." With Blaine's permission, Trent started typing out a text in response to Kurt. As he typed, Blaine sat on the couch, trying not to be mad at Kurt. He knew that he had a boyfriend. He didn't have to return the kiss. He could have easily told Kurt no, but he didn't. It was his fault too.

"Here," Trent said, showing Blaine the phone, "Is that okay?"

"_Hey Kurt. This is Trent. Since he won't stand up for himself, I will. So please, if you're going to treat him like shit, then stay the hell away from him. He doesn't need to go through something like this again. Lose his number. He doesn't need to deal with your crap. Good luck with the boyfriend."_

"Can I?" It hadn't been sent yet, but he was getting ready to.

Blaine shrugged, "Sure."

When Kurt received the last message, he was torn between sending a snarky reply or punching himself repeatedly in the face. He tossed his phone across his bed and laid down, deciding that neither would be a very good idea. He felt stupid. So, so stupid.

He felt stupid for kissing Blaine in the first place. And he felt stupid for what he had just said to him. It was a lie. They didn't just kiss because he was drunk – sure the alcohol definitely gave him the balls to do it, and had he not been drunk, he would have had the self control not to. But alcohol or no alcohol, he couldn't deny that he had some feelings for Blaine.

The text from Trent made him feel even worse, because he knew that Blaine was probably beating himself over it when it wasn't his fault at all. Kurt took full responsibility for the kiss, but he couldn't tell Blaine that, and he felt like a coward. For the first time in his life, he felt like a coward. He had always been so proud and open about w ho he was and what he wanted, and for once, he wasn't, and it scared him.

Kurt found himself wanting to able to be honest with Blaine, but as long as he had a boyfriend, he knew he couldn't. He couldn't lead Blaine on, or risk losing control around him again, and if that meant that he had to lie to him to push him away, he would do it, no matter how much it hurt him. Because it was for the best. Right?

Eventually, his thoughts went to Hayden.

_Fuck._

Hayden had known that Kurt was going out with his friends and he had even known that Blaine was going, but Kurt had insisted that they were just going as friends. Now he had to figure out how to tell his boyfriend of almost two years that he had kissed someone else. In Kurt's mind, there was no not telling him. He couldn't do that to him.

He sighed and got off his bed, leaving his phone there, and went to tell Rachel. Hopefully she would know what he should do.

When Kurt walked into the kitchen, Rachel was busy cleaning dishes, and appeared to have just eaten lunch. "Rachel?"

"Yes?" She replied cheerfully, turning to look at him.

"I need to talk to you about something."

"Does it have anything to do with why you've been moping around all day, or are you just hungover?" She asked jokingly, setting down a bowl she had been cleaning. She leaned against the counter, smiling sweetly at Kurt, who was sitting opposite of her on a barstool.

"Actually, yeah, it does," Kurt replied honestly, which caused Rachel's smile to immediately fade at his tone.

She was suddenly serious when she saw the look on Kurt's face. "Alright what is it?"

"I kissed Blaine last night," He blurted out, unable to hold it in any longer. Even though he should have felt bad saying it, he almost liked how it sounded. He immediately shook the thought from his head.

Her mouth was hanging open, and for once in her life, Rachel Berry was speechless. She wanted to jump up and down and celebrate because Kurt had finally kissed Blaine, but she knew that was wrong. He still had a boyfriend, and he was obviously confused. She needed to be a friend first and a matchmaker second. When she finally regained composure, she managed to speak. "Spill."

Kurt ran his hands through his hair nervously, "I don't know, Rachel. It just felt so perfect at the time, and he was opening up to be and being all adorable and perfect, and his lips just looked so…"

"Perfect?" Rachel supplied, unable to contain her little smile.

He sighed, "I messed up."

"How drunk were you?"

"I don't know," Kurt replied, thinking, "I definitely wasn't wasted. I knew what I was doing."

"What made you want to kiss him?" Kurt was surprised by Rachel's questions. He had expected her to freak out initially, then give him a hard time, then tell him that he needed to tell Hayden. He hadn't been expecting _this._ She didn't even seem disappointed. That was a first.

"We were talking, and he really opened up to me, and I had never seen that side of him. I don't know, Rachel. It just felt so right. I had to stop myself from holding his hand on the way back to his apartment." He sighed, "It's like…"

"He's the right person, but the wrong time?" She finished again, reading his thoughts.

He nodded, "Exactly."

"Do you want to be with him?"

Kurt sighed, "I'm with Hayden, Rachel."

"That's not what I asked," She pressed, "I asked if you want to be with _Blaine._"

"I don't know… There's just something about him. I feel like he's the kind of person I've always been looking for…" He looked down, "But it's not right. I can't do that to Hayden. I love him."

She watched Kurt, "So you're going to tell Hayden?"

"Of course," He sighed, "I can't lie to him."

"Have you talked to Blaine about it?"

He nodded, "I told him that I had a boyfriend. That I liked him, but I had a boyfriend."

She turned and resumed doing her dishes as he talked. She wanted Kurt to figure it out on his own, but she also wanted to tell him that maybe he shouldn't be in a relationship with anyone if he couldn't figure out what he wanted. She also wanted to tell him that the reason that he kissed Blaine was because they were perfect for eachother. Blaine was the kind of guy he had been looking for since high school, he just didn't see it yet. She sighed, "And did he reply?"

Kurt glanced back toward his room, "No."


	11. 11 Apartment

**_Apartment_**

* * *

><p>Kurt was pacing back and forth in his room that night, ready to go to Hayden's, but was still freaking out. He had called him and asked if he could come over, and when Hayden had said that he was busy, Kurt insisted that it was important and couldn't wait. He knew if he had time to think about it, he'd find a way to talk himself out of telling him, and he couldn't let that happen.<p>

So it was about ten when Kurt walked out his door and headed to his boyfriends apartment, praying that he wouldn't be too mad. (Though he couldn't blame him if he was.)

With every step closer to Hayden's house, Kurt got more and more nervous and scared. He didn't want to lose his boyfriend, not over something like this. He had never seen himself as the type to cheat – he had always thought that he was above it. But apparently, Blaine made him do things that he never thought he'd do.

_Stop thinking about Blaine. You need to be worrying about Hayden right now._

He shook his head, trying to get Blaine out of his thoughts. Thinking about Blaine too much was what got him where he was, anyway. He had been worrying about him so much that he had forgotten about how his boyfriend might feel.

Kurt made his way up the stairs toward Hayden's apartment and almost ran into someone on his way up, which scared him even more, because he already had too much on his mind. He then found himself standing at Hayden's door and he took a few deep breaths before knocking quickly.

Hayden answered the door almost immediately, smiling, "Hey babe." He smiled and kissed Kurt quickly before stepping aside and letting him in. "How was your day?"

"It was okay," Kurt replied, trying to sound cheerful.

Hayden motioned for Kurt to sit next to him on the couch, and when he did, Hayden turned to him, "Alright, so what's so important that you couldn't wait?" He was smiling. That part killed Kurt the most. He had no idea what was coming. He didn't even think it was something bad.

Kurt sighed, "I don't really know how to say it…"

Hayden seemed to finally see the pain in Kurt's eyes, and his brows furrowed in confusion. He took Kurt's hands, "Babe, what's wrong?"

"Look, before I say it, I want you to know that I love you, okay?" Hayden just kept studying his face, wondering what was going on, but nodded. Kurt took a shaky breath before continuing, "So you know how I was out with Ashley and her friends and Blaine last night?"

"Yeah…"

Kurt could see the hurt already in his eyes, like he knew that what he was about to tell him was going to be bad. Kurt looked down, "Well, I walked Blaine home last night before I went home. And I was drunk. And before I left, I kissed him…"

Hayden immediately let go of his hands, "You what?"

Kurt could feel himself on the verge of tears at the look on his boyfriend's face, but he knew he had to continue, "It was stupid. I wasn't thinking. And when I got up this morning, the first thing I thought about was you and how it would make you feel. I fucked up, and I understand if you're mad."

Hayden's hurt suddenly turned into anger. "I knew that there was something up with that guy. I _knew_ he liked you. He only went out with you to get you drunk and take advantage of you, Kurt."

"What?"

"Don't you get it?" Hayden hissed.

Kurt shook his head frantically, "Hayden, no. That's not it."

"You're too trusting, Kurt," He continued, fuming.

"Stop, Hayden," Kurt said, his voice shaky, "Blaine didn't take advantage of me. I got drunk and I made a mistake. I kissed him." He thought back to the kiss and when they parted. Then he thought about the way that Blaine had kissed him back, passionate and needy. "He didn't kiss me back." Kurt didn't know why he was lying for Blaine. Maybe it was because he didn't want him to get more involved that he already was, or maybe it was because he didn't want to hurt him more, but either way, he protected him.

"You're seriously defending him?" Hayden almost yelled, standing. "I really don't give a shit who kissed who, Kurt. You two kissed, and now you're defending him. You really need to think about how you're sounding right now."

"Hayden, please listen to me," Kurt begged, "I came here to tell you because I love you and I didn't want to lie to you."

"You shouldn't even be here telling me this right now, Kurt. Because if you just had half a fucking brain, maybe you would have been smart enough not to go out drinking with another guy if you had no self control." Hayden was yelling, but he wasn't crying. He was mad.

His words hit Kurt hard, and he sat on the couch for a moment, trying to stop himself from crying before he spoke up again, "I know I messed up, Hayden. But I wanted you to know, because I want to be honest with you."

"Well then be honest with me, Kurt," Hayden snapped back, "Do you like him?"

Kurt wiped the tears away from his eyes, "What?"

"Do you have feelings for Blaine?" Hayden asked, leaning in close to Kurt's face.

"I-" Kurt stopped himself. He knew that he should just lie and say no. Hayden was already mad enough as it was, and Kurt shouldn't have hesitated to add on to it, but he did. He sighed, "I don't know."

"Get out."

"W-what?" Kurt stuttered, trying to keep more tears back.

"Get the fuck out of my house." Hayden clarified, pointing toward the door.

"Wait, Hayden," Kurt pleaded, "Let's just talk this out. Please."

"I think you've said enough," Hayden whispered harshly, then stormed to the door and opened it, "Now. Leave."

Kurt stood from the couch, his legs shaking as he walked to where Hayden was standing. "Please don't do this," He begged one last time, unable to keep the tears back as they streamed down his face.

With that, Hayden placed both of his hands on Kurt's shoulders and shoved, pushing Kurt out the door. He gave Kurt one last cold look before slamming the door in his face, leaving him alone in the hallway. "Please," Kurt whispered again, his voice cracking, even though he knew it was useless and Hayden couldn't even see him.

He stood there, trying to gather himself and failing. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Kurt realized that it was useless. Hayden wasn't going to come back to the door. He wasn't going to come around and run out into the hallway and tell him that it was okay.

Kurt turned and slowly made his way back down the hallway. When he reached the stairs, the person he had ran onto on the way up was sitting on them, and he watched Kurt as he walked down the stairs, which made Kurt feel even worse. The last thing he wanted was someone to see him looking the way he did.

Kurt wanted to go home and just lay in his bed in cry, but he didn't want to see Rachel. He didn't want to hear her tell him that she was sorry and hug him, because he knew that would only make him feel worse. Instead of going home, Kurt found himself walking. He didn't know where he was going, but his legs kept carrying him numbly down the sidewalk.

It wasn't until Kurt found himself standing in front of a familiar apartment building that he realized where he had walked to. It was Blaine's apartment building. He wanted to kick himself for going there, of all places, but he didn't. Instead, he opened the door and stepped into the warm building. He stood there awkwardly for a moment, wondering what to do. He could either sit inside for a bit and warm up, then head home, or he could go upstairs and risk talking to Blaine. He didn't see how it would help at all, but he found that he was trying to talk himself into doing it. Even though Blaine was probably pretty mad at him and definitely feeling hurt, just the thought of talking to him made Kurt feel better. He also decided that he needed to try to right things with someone, since both Blaine and Hayden were now disappointed in him.

Despite his better judgment, Kurt made his way up the stairs and to Blaine's door. He took a shaky breath, then knocked. It took a few seconds, but Kurt could hear footsteps crossing the apartment, and just prayed that it wasn't Trent. The footsteps paused when they reached the door, and Kurt realized (to his dismay) that the person on the other side was probably looking through the peep hole and probably didn't like what they saw. A few more awkward seconds passed before the door finally opened, revealing Blaine standing on the other side, wearing sweats and a baggy long sleeved shirt. He was quiet as he stared at Kurt's tear streaked face, waiting for him to speak first.

Kurt smiled awkwardly, "Hey."

Blaine nodded in return, his face blank, "Hey."

"Uhm…" Kurt looked down, shuffling his feet, "Can I come in?"

Though Blaine wanted so badly to take some advice that Trent had given him earlier in the day about not being too nice, he sighed, "Yeah, sure."

The two of them sat down in the living room where Blaine had been watching a movie. Kurt looked around, "Where's Trent?"

"Alseep," Blaine answered softly. When Kurt was just quiet, Blaine decided to speak up again, "Kurt, why are you here?"

Kurt looked down, ashamed of himself. He didn't really even know why he had come to Blaine. "I fucked up," He finally let out. Blaine was quiet as he waited for Kurt to continue. Kurt sniffled, "I uh… I told Hayden what happened last night, and he kicked me out of his house."

"Why are you telling me this?" Blaine asked, not really caring if it came off as rude.

Kurt sighed, "I don't know. I guess I couldn't go back home yet, and you were the only person who came to mind."

As broken as Kurt sounded, and as badly as Blaine wanted to make him feel better, he knew that Kurt would have to work it out for himself. He had decided that he couldn't keep being the good guy that people used. "I don't know what you want me to say," He said numbly, "You made it pretty apparent that you don't want to be with me."

Kurt wiped away a few tears that had fallen, "About that…" When the words left his mouth, Blaine turned to look at him, curious. "I lied," Kurt choked out, "I didn't just kiss you because I was drunk, Blaine. I really do like you. I had been wanting to do that for a while…"

"Then why did you lie?" Blaine asked, still not really getting what Kurt was trying to prove by telling him anything.

"I didn't want to hurt you anymore," Kurt said, eyes meeting Blaine's, "I didn't want to drag you down into my stupid confusing mess even more than I already had… And now I'm here doing exactly that, and I'm sorry, but I just didn't know what else to do…"

Kurt had started crying again, and even though Blaine knew he shouldn't, he wrapped him tightly in a hug. He could feel the wetness of Kurt's tears on his shirt, but he didn't mind as he rubbed his back and calmed him down. As badly as he wanted to tell Kurt to fuck off, like Trent had done, it wasn't that simple anymore. He knew that Kurt felt bad, and he couldn't do that to him.

When the two pulled apart, Kurt smiled sadly, tears still streaking down his face. Blaine leaned forward again and used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe the tears off of Kurt's face. When he was done, the two boys were inches apart, watching eachother and waiting for the other to move.

Despite the voices in his head screaming at him not to, Blaine leaned forward yet again and cupped Kurt's chin in his hand. When he didn't see any doubt in Kurt's eyes, he closed the small gap between them and pressed his lips to Kurt's. He didn't know why he did it; maybe it was the look on Kurt's face, or maybe it was just that Blaine wanted to make him feel better. If he had thought about it for a second more, he probably wouldn't have, but there was no going back. Kurt's hand found his way to Blaine's and he intertwined their fingers like he had the night before, and sighed into the kiss, relaxing.

Blaine pulled away after a few seconds, and that was supposed to be it. Just one kiss. He already knew that he was making a mistake by kissing him. But then Kurt was leaning in again, bringing their lips back together, and Blaine couldn't help but kiss back. The kiss was needy and Kurt's tongue darted out against Blaine's lips, asking for permission into his mouth. Despite his better judgment, Blaine tilted his head and opened his mouth just slightly, and then all he could taste was Kurt. Their mouths moved together as they kissed, and Kurt's hand found its way to the back of Blaine's neck, where it gripped his curls slightly, deepening the kiss.

They parted for just a split second and when Blaine didn't stop him, Kurt leaned in for another kiss. This time, he pushed lightly and Blaine took the hint and laid down on the couch. Kurt was straddling him, unsure of what he was doing or why he was doing it, but he couldn't stop. He kissed Blaine, his tongue exploring his mouth before sucking his bottom lip gently into his mouth, earning a whimper from the boy underneath him. Taking that as a good sign, Kurt moved from his mouth to his neck, kissing and biting as his hands moved lower down Blaine's body.

When his hands reached Blaine's sweats, he attempted to tug down, and that was when Blaine finally regained control of his body. He had known that he shouldn't have let Kurt kiss him, but he let it happen. The second that Kurt pulled on his sweats, though, it was as if something clicked inside of him. His hands found Kurt's and he attempted to pull them away, "Kurt, stop." Kurt didn't seem to hear him and just kept kissing his neck, so Blaine pushed on his chest, "Stop."

Kurt sat up immediately, eyes wide, knowing he had done something wrong, "But…"

Blaine ran a hand through his hair as he sat up too, "I can't, Kurt…" He watched as the other boy realized what he was talking about, "I can't be that person again. And I can't be a rebound. If you're still with Hayden, we can't." He was already kicking himself for kissing Kurt again, but there was nothing he could do to change it.

"I know…" Kurt sighed. He had known the kiss was a bad idea, but once he had started, he couldn't stop.

"We probably shouldn't talk until you figure this out…" Blaine finally said, even though it pained him.

"But…" Kurt started, trying to think of a legitimate argument.

"I just can't do this to myself again," Blaine said, mostly to himself, but Kurt heard it too.

"I'm sorry, Blaine…"

"Can you please leave?" Blaine asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. As much as he didn't want to be the second person to kick Kurt out in one night, there was no other choice.

Without a word, Kurt stood from the couch and walked across the room. He took one last glance and Blaine, who hadn't moved, then walked out of the apartment, shutting the door behind him.


	12. 12 Lost In My Mind

**_Lost In My Mind_**

* * *

><p>To his surprise, Rachel was still awake when Kurt walked in the door that night. She had been sitting on the couch, working on homework with a movie playing in the background, and when she heard the door open she turned to see Kurt's tear streaked face and messy hair. He looked awful.<p>

Rachel stood, "Honey, what happened?"

Kurt just shook his head and sat down on the smaller couch, away from Rachel. She sat next to him, even though there was not much room and wrapped him in a tight hug. Kurt, who had been trying to hold back his tears, couldn't help but let a few sobs out while his face was buried in Rachel's shoulder. She held him tight, rubbing his back lightly as they hugged, and let him calm down before they pulled apart. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked, voice soft. She felt bad for him. He was obviously upset and confused about what he wanted, and a little part of her wished that she wouldn't have encouraged him to hang out with Blaine.

Kurt wiped his face with the sleeve of his sweater before nodding, "Hayden kicked me out."

Her eyes widened, and for a second she wanted to call up Hayden and tell him to leave her best friend alone for good. "Are you okay?"

Kurt shook his head no then continued, "He called me stupid. And he asked me if I had feeling for Blaine and I hesitated." Kurt let his head drop to his hands, "I'm so dumb. I shouldn't have hesitated. Now he hates me _and_ Blaine hates me."

"Blaine hates you?" Rachel asked, confused, "Did you talk to him?"

Kurt sighed, "I'm so stupid, Rachel. I went to his house. I don't know why, but I did… and then we kissed again. And then he got mad at me and told me to leave."

Rachel took a deep breath, "Well, I think you need to give them both some time and space to think about things, Kurt. It's not going to help anything if you keep confusing them and yourself even more…" Kurt nodded in agreement. "And," Rachel continued, "You really need to think about things."

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked, looking up.

"You know what I mean," Rachel pressed, "I know you have feelings for Blaine. And I know you still love Hayden. But obviously you're going to need to choose one or the other. Or choose to be single. You can't keep doing this to yourself, Kurt."

Kurt didn't say anything in response, but he knew that it was true. He was stretching himself thin, trying to please both Blaine and Hayden, and he was not only hurting them, but also himself. He wanted so badly to do the right thing and stay with his boyfriend. At the same time, though, Kurt felt that by hurting Blaine, he was only contributing to his passive personality. Blaine just let people walk all over him, and Kurt didn't want to be yet another person to do that to him.

Kurt sighed leaned his head back on the couch, both mentally and physically exhausted. He didn't know what to do. He didn't even know if he and Hayden were even together or not. The way that Hayden had kicked him out had left him hanging. "Should I call Hayden?"

Rachel sighed. She was torn because recently, she wanted Kurt to be with Blaine more than she wanted him to be with Hayden, but she knew that Kurt had to do what made him happy. And if he thought Hayden was the right choice, then she would have to support it. "I'd give it some time," She finally answered, "Let him think about things for the night. Besides, I don't want you to drain yourself even more."

Kurt let his eyes close at Rachel's reply and let out a deep breath, trying to relax.

The next morning, Kurt awoke on the couch, covered by a blanket that Rachel must have grabbed from the closet and put on him sometime in the night. She was in the kitchen, making breakfast when he sat up. She turned and smiled at him, "Good morning."

Kurt nodded in return, then let his head hit the pillow again, the events of the night before hitting him again. He grabbed his phone from the table to check it, and wasn't surprised when he didn't have any texts or missed calls. Great. So neither Hayden nor Blaine was talking to him. Still

"Pancakes?" Rachel called from the kitchen, cheerful.

As much as Kurt hated getting down on himself, he couldn't help it. He just groaned in response, "No, I'm fine."

"No you're not," Rachel retorted, setting a couple of plates on the table, "You're eating some food. I don't want you to be depressed _and_ malnourished."

Normally, Kurt would have laughed at Rachel, but instead he just got up and made his way to the kitchen, where he sat at his normal spot. Rachel placed a plate with three pancakes on it and nodded toward it. "Eat." When Kurt just looked up at her, she added a "please?"

As the two of them sat and ate their breakfast, Rachel thought of ways she could cheer Kurt up, or at least get his mind off of things. The last thing she wanted was him moping around the apartment feeling sorry for himself. "What do you want to do today?"

Kurt shrugged, "Die?"

Rachel chuckled at his dark humor, "Really, though. Let's go do something."

He sighed, "I don't know Rachel…"

"I will seriously give you money and let you buy me an entire new wardrobe if that's what it takes to get you to smile, Kurt," She said half jokingly. If that was what it would take, she'd do it.

He shook his head, but couldn't stop his mouth from twisting up into a half smile, "An _entire_ new wardrobe?"

She laughed, "Yes."

After breakfast, Rachel convinced Kurt to get in the shower and get ready to go do something. By about one, the two of them headed out to go shopping or to a movie. They didn't have a real destination, but it was better than staying cooped up in the house.

Eventually, they ended up in a little boutique, where Kurt started picking outfits for Rachel to try on, and he looked like he was at least having a little fun. They went to a couple of different stores before they decided to get something to eat and decided on a little sandwich shop that they had never been to. The two of them sat down together and chatted normally as they waited for their food. Rachel smiled, proud of herself, because Kurt was finally acting normal again. He finally had that spark in his eyes again, even if it was just until they got home. At least it was something.

Finally, just as Kurt was starting to get things off of his mind, his phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket, and as he did, Rachel's face fell. She mentally cursed herself for not insisting that he leave his phone at home. Of course, there was a text from Hayden. _"Can I call you?"_

Kurt held his phone out to Rachel, "What do I say?"

Rachel sighed, "You don't _have_ to reply right now…"

Instead of listening, he typed out a quick response then held the phone out for her to see. _"I'm out with Rachel. Can I call when I'm home?"_

She shrugged, "Sure." Rachel found herself a little bummed out that Hayden had texted him first. She had really wanted him to hear from Blaine.

After a few minutes, his phone vibrated again. Kurt read it quickly before showing it to her again. _"How about you just come over after you're done?"_

Rachel sighed, "You know, you don't have to say yes…"

"What?" Kurt asked, confused.

"I mean, you don't _have_ to go over to his house today. He was pretty rude to you last night…" When he just kept looking at her, she continued, "I'm not saying that what you did was right, but you don't have to let him make every call in your relationship."

Kurt raised an eyebrow, still not quite sure what she was trying to get at. Instead of saying anything, he just looked back down at his phone and responded quickly, saying that he would stop by later. Finally he sighed, "I _want_ to see him, Rachel."

She shrugged, "Alright. Just… don't let him push you around."

A few hours later, Kurt was heading out the door again and leaving to go to Hayden's house. He couldn't help but be nervous as he walked down the sidewalk, and wondered if it was going to end badly, or if they would make up. He also found himself wondering what he could do if they didn't make up. Blaine had made it pretty clear the night before that he didn't want to just be a rebound, and Kurt was scared of hurting him even more. But he couldn't help but wonder if they would end up together if things with Hayden didn't work out.

Kurt shook the thought from his head as soon as it came, though.

_You shouldn't be thinking about that. You're going to your boyfriend's house._

He was also a little scared to go back to Hayden's because of the way he had treated him the night before. Though Kurt knew that he was in the wrong by cheating on him, the thought of Hayden yelling at him and pushing him scared him. He had never seen him that angry before and he only hoped that he wasn't that mad anymore.

Before he knew it, Kurt was standing outside of Hayden's door, yet again, and took a couple of deep breaths before knocking a couple of times. It took a few seconds, but then Hayden was opening the door. He stood on the other side, hair done, wearing a nice shirt and looked like he was getting ready to go out. He smiled slightly when he saw Kurt, "Come in."

Kurt followed him inside and sat down on the couch, where Hayden motioned for him. Hayden sat next to him, and it was quiet between the two before he finally spoke up, "Kurt, I'm really sorry for the way I acted last night."

Kurt raised his eyebrows in surprise. He hadn't been expecting _that_. "It's okay…" He managed to get out.

Hayden shook his head, "I shouldn't have shoved you. Or talked to you like that. I was just… really mad. And hurt."

"You had every right to be," Kurt said, looking down.

Hayden took his hand, "I know it took a lot of guts for you to tell me that… and I'm glad you were honest with me. And I forgive you…"

_But…_

There had to be a catch, and Kurt was bracing himself for it. By the way Hayden had reacted the night before, there was no way he was just going to be okay with it. Kurt watched him, waiting for him to continue. "But…" He finally managed to get out, "You made it pretty apparent that you _do_ have feelings for Blaine…"

Fuck. Of course he had. He had hesitated when Hayden had asked him about it. "Look, Kurt," Hayden sighed, "I really do want to work this out, but in order to do that, some things are going to need to change."

Kurt nodded, "Of course. Anything."

"If we're going to continue dating, you can't be friends with Blaine anymore."

"What?" Kurt honestly wanted to yell at him. He wanted to yell at him and tell him that even though he was his boyfriend, he had no right to tell him who he could or couldn't be friends with, but he couldn't. Though Kurt couldn't stand people who were controlling in relationships, he assumed that Hayden wasn't trying to be controlling. He was just scared of getting hurt again. But on the other hand, Kurt didn't want to cut Blaine off completely. Not after the way things had ended the night before. It would give him the wrong impression completely.

"I can't be wondering if you're cheating on me with him every time you go and hang out with him…" Hayden explained, "I'm not doing this to control you, Kurt. I'm doing this based on your past decisions. Obviously you've had a problem controlling yourself around him before, and I just don't want that to happen again…"

"When you say it that way, you make it sound like I'm untrustworthy," Kurt argued, "I just had a moment of weakness… And I told you about it because I love you and I want to make this work."

"Look," Hayden replied, trying to keep his cool, "I've made up my mind. If you want to be with me, then you can't talk to him. So what is it going to be?"

Kurt knew he had gotten himself into this mess, but he thought that Hayden was being a little harsh. There was really nothing he could do about it, though. Maybe he could at least try to explain things to Blaine when he got home…

Kurt took a deep breath, "Alright. Yeah. I want to be with you."

Even though Kurt wasn't looking at him, Hayden grinned as if he had just won. "Let me see your phone."

"What?" Kurt's head snapped up.

He held out his hand, "If you want me to trust you, give me your phone."

Kurt wanted to smack him and tell him to fuck off, but instead, he pulled his phone out of his back pocket and handed it to him. Hayden then proceeded to scroll through his contacts. He stopped on Blaine's name, opened the contact, and deleted it. Then, he went to Kurt's text messages and found the ones from Blaine and deleted those too. Finally, he went to Kurt's recent call list, and deleted them all. He then handed the phone back to a speechless Kurt.

_So much for texting Blaine when you get home._

Hayden then leaned forward and kissed Kurt quickly, "I'm glad we worked things out."

Kurt managed to smile back, "Yeah, me too."


	13. 13 All Good Things

**_All Good Things_**

****I know this is a relatively short chapter, but I'll try to get another one up before this weekend to make up for it! :]

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><p>Three weeks. It had been exactly three weeks since Blaine had seen Kurt.<p>

It wasn't like he had necessarily been expecting Kurt to burst into his house declaring his love for him, but he also hadn't expected to not hear from him at all. After the first week, Blaine started to get worried that maybe Kurt had taken it to heart when he told him that they shouldn't talk until he figured things out. He tried to look on the bright side though. At least Kurt wasn't showing up at his house every night confusing him even more. In fact, maybe he was doing him a favor by ignoring him.

Blaine had thought about calling, but didn't want to come off as desperate. After all, he wasn't Kurt's boyfriend. If he wanted to talk, he could call him himself.

By the second week, Blaine started to get worried. He hadn't heard from Kurt at all and neither he nor Rachel had been in to get their usual coffee in the morning. He wasn't sure if he should be more worried that something might have happened to Kurt, or that he might have chosen his boyfriend over him. If Kurt had picked his boyfriend, he could have at least had the decency to tell him so. By the second week, Blaine even contemplated finding Kurt on facebook to see if everything was okay, but he decided not to. (mostly because he couldn't remember his last name, but also because he didn't want to come off as creepy or find something that he didn't want to.)

Once it had been three weeks, Blaine had basically lost all hope. Rachel and Kurt hadn't been in to get coffee at all, Kurt hadn't called, and even Trent said Rachel hadn't mentioned anything about Kurt in class.

Blaine didn't even know why he was so broken up about it. Yeah, he liked Kurt, and yeah, it sucked that they kissed and nothing came from it, but he knew he should have seen it coming. Blaine was kicking himself for getting his hopes up. For some reason, he had hoped that things could work between him and Kurt, especially after Rachel had told him that she as "rooting for them".

By the third week, Blaine decided it was probably time to move on.

He convinced himself that what he and Kurt had was just a fling and he would find someone else that would appreciate him for who he was. Or at least, that's what Trent had told him. Trent hated seeing Blaine moping around the apartment. He hated hearing about how he hadn't talked to Kurt in weeks. All he wanted was for his best friend to be happy. Blaine had been there for him though a lot of things, and he knew it was his turn to return the favor.

Blaine was up early on a Monday morning getting ready for work when his phone rang. He glanced down at where it was laying on his bed, and was surprised when his brother's name appeared on the screen. He pulled his shirt quickly over his head then grabbed his phone, "Hey, Coop. You're up early."

"Morning brother," Cooper's voice came through the other end, "I figured you would be getting ready for work."

"I am, actually," Blaine replied, putting on his shoes as well, "How did you know?"

"Well…" Cooper started, as if he was hiding something from him.

"Oh god what's going on?" Blaine asked, seeing right through it.

"I actually just talked to Trent," He admitted.

Blaine wanted to strangle his roommate. Trent had been trying so hard the past week to cheer him up, and now he had resorted to calling Cooper. "And what did he say to you?"

"Oh nothing," He replied, trying to act casual, "He just said that you could use some cheering up, so I figured I'd call you and tell you I love you."

Blaine laughed, "God, I'm going to kill him."

"So… is everything okay out there?"

He sighed, "It's okay… I guess."

"Do you need your big brother to come kick someone's ass?" He joked.

"No, I think I'll live," Blaine said reassuringly.

Cooper was quiet for a second before, "So… does that mean I should get a refund on these plane tickets?"

Blaine's eyes widened. "Did I just hear you right?"

His brother chuckled, "Maybe…"

Blaine immediately got excited and had to refrain from jumping up and down like a little kid, "You're coming out here?"

"Yup," Cooper replied, excited, "Trent said you could use your brother, and I had a week of vacation before we went back to shooting and I figured that since Thanksgiving was coming up, I could come out and see you for the holiday."

"Holy shit, are you serious?"

"Very serious," Cooper said cheerfully, "I'll be out there in a couple of weeks. I think my flight gets in two days before thanksgiving."

"I'm so excited to see you," Blaine breathed out, sitting back down on his bed.

"I know, I miss you," Cooper returned, "But hey, I'll talk to you later and we'll figure all of this out. You probably need to get to work."

Blaine sighed, "Don't remind me."

Cooper seemed to ignore his comment, "Love you brother."

"I love you too, Coop," Blaine replied, then ended the call. He smiled to himself. At least he was going to be in a better mood for work. He finished getting ready for work and headed out the door with a spring in his step, excited to see his brother again and glad that he had something to look forward to. It started snowing halfway through his walk to work, and though everyone else around him on the busy street was bitching about it, he liked it. It was something new.

When Blaine walked into work, it was already busy, so he grabbed his apron and helped Melissa through the rush. When it finally calmed down, she smiled in his direction, "You look happy."

"I am," Blaine replied cheerfully, "My brother is coming to see me for Thanksgiving."

"You have a brother?" Melissa asked, cleaning the counter.

Blaine laughed, "Yes, and he's so amazing, he's-" He was cut off, though, when someone walking in the door caught his eye.

Rachel smiled when she saw him behind the counter and she shook some of the snow off of her coat as she walked inside. Blaine shared a quick glance with Melissa before meeting Rachel at the counter. She smiled warmly at him, as if she had missed him. "Hey Blaine."

Of course she had to walk in. His day had been going good and something just had to come and throw him off. "Hey Rachel."

It was quiet for a moment as she studied his face, then she shook herself out of it, "Uh… could I get a peppermint mocha?"

He took her money and started to make her drink and couldn't help but notice how quiet it was, and not the good kind of quiet. Both of them wanted to say something, but neither could bring themselves to do it. Finally when Blaine was handing the coffee to her, Rachel spoke up, "How have you been?" It was a loaded question. Blaine could tell. She knew that he probably wasn't taking Kurt not talking to him very well. And thankfully, what he couldn't tell from the way she was looking at him was that Kurt had sent her to check up on him – to make sure he was alive and okay.

"I've been… good," He replied carefully, trying not to get too into it. He was having a good day, and he wanted it to stay that way, damn it.

"Really, Blaine. How have you been?" Rachel asked, seeing right through it.

He sighed, "I've been alright. How's Kurt? Is he okay? I haven't-"

"He's doing good," Rachel replied, cutting him off.

"Still with-"

"Yeah…" Rachel cut him off again, looking uncomfortable.

It was quiet between the two before Blaine forced a little smile, "It was good seeing you, Rachel. I missed you."

Rachel smiled back, "Good to see you too, Blaine."

After she walked out, Blaine took his break. For his thirty minutes, he sat in the back room confused because he had no idea what had just happened. There were only a couple of things he could take away from the conversation for sure. One, that Kurt was okay, thank god. And two, that he was still with Hayden, which probably explained why he hadn't talked to him.

Blaine laid his head on the break table and closed his eyes. He couldn't wait to see his brother. He needed someone to take his mind off of things.


	14. 14 No I'm Not Going To 80's Night

**_No... I'm Not Going To 80's Night_**

__I'm pretty sure this is one of the chapters that a lot of you have been waiting for/speculating about, so I hope you like it. It was kind of one of my favorites to write because for some odd reason I really like writing confrontations. Haha.

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><p>Blaine was up around noon the next afternoon, and if it weren't for his alarm going off, he probably would have slept all day. He groaned as he got out of bed and made his way to the shower. He had work at two, and was feeling completely unmotivated to go. While he got ready, Blaine turned his iPod on, plugged it into his speakers, and decided to play his "angry playlist". (Yes, Blaine has an angry playlist. Though the angriest music on it is some form of pop punk. Because let's face it, Blaine can't get <em>that <em>angry.) Though he wasn't even feeling bad, he needed something to motivate him to get out of bed.

He sang along with his music as he got dressed and put his shoes on and grabbed his iPod as he left his room and headed out the door. Thankfully, work wasn't that busy and he spent the majority of his shift just cleaning, zoning out and thinking of all of the things he and Cooper could do when he got to town. His brother had only come to visit him in New York once, so he was excited to show him all of the new places he had found since his last visit.

An hour before Blaine's shift was over, he was making drinks for a couple when he saw two more people walk in the door. He glanced up and when he did, he almost dropped the cup he was holding.

_Holy shit._

He knew that face. He had only seen that face once, but it had been permanently burned into his memory as a reminder of what he couldn't have. Hayden, of all people, was walking into his work. Blaine wanted to scream. He wanted to throw the drink and storm into the back room. His work had been his sacred place. Kurt and Rachel had never brought Hayden with them, and Blaine liked it that way. His work was his place where he met and got to know Kurt and Rachel. It was special to him, and now it was ruined.

He wasn't alone, either.

Thankfully, Hayden was too busy looking up at the menu on the wall to notice that Blaine had been staring at him while he made the drinks. Hayden was standing side by side with another boy, a shorter blonde slender boy with long hair. And they were holding hands.

Had Rachel lied? Had Kurt and Hayden broken up? Or…

Blaine's thoughts were cut short when Hayden finally seemed to realize that somebody was watching him. His eyes met Blaine's, and at first they widened in surprise, then they narrowed in anger as he watched him.

Finally, Hayden and the other boy were ready to order and of course Blaine's manager was still on her break. He took a deep breath and walked over to the counter. "What can I get you?"

"Just two nonfat mochas," Hayden replied coolly, and Blaine cringed. That was _Kurt's _coffee order. Now he had officially ruined everything.

Blaine took his money and gave him his change and started to make the drinks. Hayden quietly told the other boy, whose name Blaine didn't catch, to sit down while he waited for their drinks. Blaine's heart pounded loud in his ears as he made their drinks. Hayden was the last person in the world he wanted to see, not only because he was Kurt's boyfriend, but because he knew that they had kissed and he was glaring daggers into his back.

Blaine set the cups down on the counter and he hoped that would be the end of it. But instead of grabbing the drinks, Hayden managed to lean forward and grab Blaine's wrist, stopping him from turning around. Blaine looked up into his eyes, which were narrowed. He grinned, "Hey, Blaine."

Blaine tried to act like he wasn't freaking out on the inside and silently wondered where his manager was and why she wasn't seeing what was going on from the camera in the back. "Uh… hey."

Hayden looked him up and down, "You talk to Kurt lately?"

Blaine's brows furrowed in confusion, "No…"

He smiled, as if he were proud of himself, "Good. If you lay another finger on my boyfriend, I swear to God, you're fucking dead."

Blaine swallowed hard and tried to act tough, his tone sarcastic, "Right…"

"I mean it," Hayden hissed, his grip tightening, "Okay?"

At that, Blaine nodded, "Fine."

He turned his head to look at the blonde boy waiting for him on the other end of the coffee shop then looked back at Blaine, "He's cute, right?" Blaine raised an eyebrow in confusion then sighed in relief as Hayden's grip loosened. Just as he was about to pull away though, he leaned forward ahain, right in Blaine's face, "Kurt doesn't need to hear about me coming in here with my… _friend,_ okay?"

Blaine's eyes widened, finally understanding, "What-"

"Not word, or else," Hayden said through clenched teeth, to which Blaine just nodded. Finally, he let go of his wrist and clapped him on his shoulder before walking away, "Thanks, buddy."

While Blaine leaned back against the counter, having a mini panic attack, Hayden walked over to the table with their coffee and sat down with the blonde boy, smiling as if nothing had happened. When he finally trusted himself to stand on his own, Blaine returned to the front counter, where he nervously started to straighten things up, hands shaking. Hayden shot him a quick glance before leaning forward to kiss the boy hard, making sure he saw.

_Oh, fuck._

Blaine looked down, trying to keep himself busy so he didn't freak out.

_He's cheating on Kurt, he's cheating on Kurt._

He wanted so badly for his manager to emerge from the back room so he could ask her if he could leave early with a lame family emergency excuse. He just needed to get the fuck out of there before he exploded. He couldn't help but wonder how long it had been going on.

_What if he's only doing it to get back at him for kissing you? What if this is your fault?_

Blaine managed to keep himself busy for another fifteen minutes, trying not to look up at Hayden who was probably giving him death glares from across the room. Finally, he heard people getting up out of their chairs and he glanced up to see them leaving. Hayden shot a smirk in Blaine's direction, "See you around, Blaine."

At that, it took every little bit of strength for Blaine not to slide to the floor. Thankfully, as they walked out, his manager emerged from the back room. She must have seen Blaine's face because her eyes widened and she rushed over to where he was standing, "Hey, are you okay?"

Blaine glanced up, "What?"

"You look sick… Your face is really pale. Are you okay?" She asked again, concerned. She obviously hadn't been watching the camera.

"I guess I am feeling kind of sick," Blaine lied, running his hand through his hair.

"Go ahead and go home early," She said, "You only have thirty minutes left anyway…"

Blaine nodded, headed to the back room to grab his things, and then was walking quickly out the door. The entire way home, he was freaking out, trying to figure out what to do. Kurt probably wouldn't believe him, let alone answer the phone if he called. He figured he could try calling Rachel, but she had been acting weird the day before and he really didn't want to drag her into things…

Blaine was beyond relieved when he walked in the door of his apartment to find Trent sitting at the kitchen table doing homework. He glanced up when Blaine walked in and had to do a double take when he saw his face. "Dude are you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost," He said, putting his pen down.

Blaine shook his head, "I have no idea what's going on."

Trent raised an eyebrow, then kicked out the chair across from him for Blaine to sit in, "Care to explain?"

Blaine sat down and put his head on the table for a moment, breathing deep and trying to calm down. When he decided that he was okay to talk, he sat back up slowly, "Hayden came in to my work today."

"And should I know who Hayden is?" Trent asked, confused.

"Kurt's boyfriend," He choked out.

"No fucking way," Trent's eyes were wide, "Did he recognize you?"

Blaine nodded, "Oh yeah."

"What happened?"

"He asked me if I had talked to Kurt lately and when I said no he looked all pleased with himself. And then he told me he'd kill me if I ever touched Kurt again…"

"Jesus," Trent breathed out, "Isn't that a little overboard?"

Blaine managed to choke out a laugh, "That's not the worst part…" Trent looked at him, waiting for him to go on. He sighed, "He came in with another guy. And they were holding hands… And then they kissed."

"Holy shit…"

Blaine nodded, "Yup. So, he's cheating on Kurt, and it's probably my fault."

"Why do you say that?" Trent asked, leaning forward.

"I'm sure he's only doing it to get back at him…"

He shrugged, "Or maybe he's just a dick, and he has been cheating on him for a while."

"Well either way," Blaine said, "What am I supposed to do?"

"You don't think Kurt would believe you?" Trent asked.

"God no," Blaine replied, "If he didn't have the decency to tell me that he was still with Hayden, why would he believe me when I tell him that he's cheating on him?"

Trent shrugged, "It's worth a shot… I mean, if you want to get involved…"

Blaine spent the rest of the afternoon and evening trying to figure out how to break the news to Kurt. As much as he didn't want to get involved, he knew it was the right thing to do to tell him. Because that's what a _friend_ would do, right? The thought of calling Kurt absolutely terrified him though. They hadn't talked in almost a month, and now their first time talking again was because Kurt's boyfriend was cheating on him.

He thought about calling Rachel first. He did have her number, after all, but he didn't want to drag her into a mess, too. That, and he figured she'd hear about it eventually. It was about nine when Blaine finally decided that he should call Kurt and he hoped that he didn't have class in the morning.

Blaine toyed with his phone, Kurt's contact open, and took a deep breath before hitting the call button. It rang once, twice, three times, and Blaine was just about to hang up when someone answered the phone. It was quiet for a second before, "Hello?"

Blaine's heartbeat quickened at Kurt's voice. "Hey, Kurt."

He was quiet on the other line for a moment, "Who is this?"

_Holy shit, he actually deleted your number._

"Uh…" Blaine cleared his throat, "It's Blaine." He wasn't sure if Kurt hung up because it was instantly silent on the other end. "H-hello?"

"Yeah, hey," Kurt said quickly and Blaine could hear a door closing in the background.

"Uh…" Everything that Blaine had planned on saying went out the window. He attempted to find something to say, "I sort of need to talk to you… Are you free?"

"Yeah…" Kurt said carefully, "What's up?"

Blaine sighed, "Well, Uhm… I kind of wish I was calling about something good but…"

"Blaine, what's going on?" Kurt asked when he trailed off.

"Look, if I tell you this, can you promise not to be mad at me?" Blaine asked, nervous.

"Yeah, sure. What is it?" Kurt replied, oblivious.

He took a deep breath, "So… Your boyfriend came in to my work today…"

"He did?" Kurt asked, surprised. Hayden had told him that he had a lot of homework to do and couldn't hang out. Odd.

"And, uh… He was with someone," Blaine was practically shaking because he was so nervous, "Look, Kurt, I don't want to be the person to tell you this, but I think he's cheating on you."

"You think what?" Kurt asked voice high.

Blaine swallowed hard, hoping the phone call didn't end badly, "He came in with someone else, and he kissed him…"

Kurt didn't want to believe it. "How am I supposed to believe you? How do I know you're not just saying this because you're jealous?" After he said it, he felt like an asshole, but he refused to believe it was true.

"I'm not trying to get in the middle of things," Blaine assured, "I just figured you deserved to know…"

Kurt sighed. He didn't want to be rude. He didn't want to hurt Blaine any more, but he couldn't deal with it, "It was good talking to you, Blaine."

"Kurt wait-" Blaine tried to stop him from hanging up, but it was too late.

_Well, that went great…_


	15. 15 I Hope This Finds You Well

**_I Hope This Finds You Well_**

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><p>Kurt couldn't decide if he was more angry or upset when he got off the phone with Blaine. He did know one thing for sure though – Hayden would never cheat on him in a million years. Why Blaine had decided to say something like that was beyond him. Up until that point, Kurt had thought that Blaine was a good person. But lying about Hayden cheating on him just because he was hurt or jealous or whatever? Not only was it completely uncalled for, it was immature.<p>

Kurt wouldn't even let himself wonder if it was true. There was no way. Hayden would never do that.

Then again, a few months ago, Kurt thought he would never cheat on anyone either…

Rachel knocking on his door snapped Kurt out of his thoughts, and he was quickly reminded that he had answered his phone in the middle of a conversation and when he heard Blaine, he had ran to his room and shut the door. "Kurt, is everything okay?" She asked softly, knocking again.

He sighed, running his hand through his hair quickly, "Yeah, come in."

Rachel walked in his room and joined him on his bed. "Who was that and why did you run in here?" She asked jokingly. When Kurt just looked at her, her eyes widened, "Kurt, who was on the phone?"

"Blaine," He said softly.

"No way," Rachel said, trying not to act too excited. She couldn't deny that she was definitely a little happy that Blaine had called. When she saw the upset look on his face, though, her smile fell. "What's wrong?"

"He's just being stupid," Kurt replied, trying to blow it off, though he knew it was useless.

"Kurt, what did he do?" She pushed.

He sighed, "It's nothing, really. He's just trying to upset me because he's jealous or angry or something…" When she raised an eyebrow, he clarified, "He tried telling me that Hayden is cheating on me."

"And what made him think that?" Rachel asked calmly.

"Oh God, you think he's telling the truth!" Kurt exclaimed at her response.

She shook her head quickly, "I didn't say that. I just asked."

Kurt studied her face for a moment before answering her, "_Apparently,_ he saw him kissing another guy."

"Oh really?" Rachel asked, trying to stay calm for Kurt's sake. He obviously didn't believe Blaine, and she didn't want him thinking that she did.

He shrugged, "I don't believe it. I think he's just upset that we haven't talked."

Rachel planned her next words carefully before speaking. "That doesn't really sound like him…"

"Excuse me?" Kurt asked, eyeing her.

She shrugged, "I'm just saying… He's never seemed like a manipulative person. Why would he start now? He's always been so laid back…"

"Like I said, he's mad or jealous or something… Hayden would never." When Rachel was just quiet, he spoke up again, "You think he would cheat on me?"

"I didn't say that," Rachel replied carefully.

"But you're thinking it," Kurt said, "I can tell. Why do you think Hayden would ever cheat on me?" Though he didn't want to believe it, Rachel's responses were worrying him.

She sighed, "I don't know… Maybe for revenge? You know… because of what happened with you and Blaine…"

"Are you kidding me?" He exclaimed.

"I'm not saying that Blaine is right," She said, trying to save herself, "I just don't want you do rule it out just because you don't want to believe it."

"Can you please leave my room?" Kurt asked numbly, and Rachel got up wordlessly and shut the door behind her.

For the next couple of days, Kurt tried to act normal when he hung out with Rachel and Hayden. He and Rachel hadn't talked things out after he had gotten upset with her, and they probably wouldn't. It wasn't that Kurt didn't want to discuss things and have an adult conversation with Rachel, it was just that he really didn't even want to consider the fact that Hayden could actually be cheating on him.

Kurt knew how broken up and upset Hayden had been when he had told him about Blaine, and he couldn't imagine him doing something like that. Not to mention, Hayden hadn't done anything to make him suspicious. In fact, if it weren't for Blaine saying something, Kurt would have never even thought about it, which meant nothing could be going on.

Even when the three of them hung out after class, Hayden seemed fine. If Blaine had really seen him with another guy, like he had said, Kurt figured he would at least be acting strange. But everything was fine on both Wednesday and Thursday when they hung out. He and Hayden even went out to dinner to one of Kurt's favorite restaurants on Thursday night.

Though Kurt was certain that everything was fine between them, he found himself over thinking little things that Hayden would say while they were out to dinner and he had to stop himself. He had never been jealous or suspicious of him before, and he wasn't going to start now, just because Blaine was trying to be manipulative.

"How are your rehearsals going?" Kurt asked, taking a sip of his water as they waited for their food. Hayden had been really busy recently with school, and they hadn't had a nice night to themselves for a while.

"Huh?" He asked, glancing up from his phone before he set it back on the table, "Oh, they're going good. I'm just glad I had some time to spend with you." Hayden smiled and reached forward to take Kurt's hands.

Kurt smiled back, "Yeah, I am too."

Hayden then glanced around for their waitress before standing, "I'm going to run to the restroom before our food gets here." Kurt nodded in response as he walked away. As he waited, Kurt glanced down at where Hayden had been sitting and noticed that his phone was still sitting where he had left it on his table.

He had never been the type of person to get jealous or suspicious, and it was probably just Blaine getting into his head, but a small voice told him to grab the phone and look through his texts. Kurt tried to convince himself not to. There was no way Hayden was cheating on him. He wasn't going to find any suspicious texts. He was freaking himself out over nothing. Besides, if he had something to hide, he wouldn't have left his phone sitting out.

_What can it hurt? If he's really not hiding anything, then there's no harm in looking… You won't find anything bad…_

The voice in the back of his head was persistent and before he knew what he was doing, Kurt was picking up his phone and going to the most recent text messages. He glanced around before scrolling through them quickly. They were from someone named Alex. Kurt had heard the name before, and was sure it was one of Hayden's friends from class.

As he scrolled through, he saw that most of the texts were about class or rehearsal and he wanted to kick himself for being suspicious. Then there was one that he stopped at, which read _"Had fun hanging out today."_

It was only from a couple of days ago, and as Kurt tried to figure out exactly which day it was, he noticed Hayden heading back from the bathroom and quickly returned the phone to its spot, making sure he had closed out of the conversation. The little voice in the back of his head tried to tell him that the text was suspicious, but he tried to push it away as Hayden sat back down in front of him, his cheerful happy self.

As they ate, Kurt wondered if Hayden would cheat on him to get back at him for what had happened with Blaine. Of course, now that he had read his texts, he was even more paranoid, even though he hadn't even found anything substantial.

"Babe?" Kurt asked softly, putting down his fork and looking at his boyfriend.

Hayden glanced up at him and smiled, "Yes?"

"Are we okay?"

Hayden's brows furrowed as he looked at him, confused, "Of course we are. Why wouldn't we be?"

Kurt sighed, "Well, we just haven't really talked about… you know, what happened between me and _Blaine_ since that night, and I just wanted to know that we're okay…"

Hayden watched him carefully for a moment before reaching forward again to take Kurt's hands again, "We're fine. Don't worry about it. It's in the past, okay?"

Kurt nodded, "Okay."

Though Hayden's words should have been comforting, Blaine must have gotten in his head, because over the next couple of days Kurt couldn't stop thinking about things. Hayden still hadn't given him any reason to be worried, but he couldn't help it. When Kurt asked Rachel what he should do about it, she suggested that the two of them go out over the weekend. She told him not to worry about it too much, but to watch for anything suspicious while they were together. Basically, it was what he was already doing.

He had asked Hayden if he wanted to hang out on Saturday, though – maybe see a movie and have dinner, then spend the night together. Hayden had originally been busy, but he eventually pulled some strings and agreed that a date night was in order.

Saturday afternoon, Kurt was getting ready to head to Hayden's house while Rachel sat in the living room working on homework. He and Hayden were supposed to meet up around five and go to a movie, then dinner, then go back to Hayden's place and hang out. Kurt couldn't help but be excited, despite the little voice in the back of his head telling him to be on the lookout for anything suspicious. He never got to spend the night at Hayden's anymore and he was missing it.

Around four, Kurt tried calling his boyfriend and got his voicemail. "Maybe he's still working on school stuff," Rachel suggested, "After all, he did say that he had to pull some strings so he wouldn't be busy all night."

Kurt shrugged it off and agreed with Rachel. They still had an hour before they were supposed to meet up, anyway. When he tried calling again fifteen minutes before five though, he got his voicemail again. Kurt sat down on the couch with Rachel and turned on the TV, waiting to hear back from his boyfriend.

"Don't stress about it," Rachel said, not looking up from her work, "You have all night to hang out with him."

Kurt nodded, "Yeah, yeah. I know."

"You're not worrying about things, are you?"

Kurt shrugged in response, trying to avoid talking to Rachel about things. He didn't want another lecture from her about how Blaine might be right. "Look," She started, seemingly reading his mind, "I know I upset you the other day when I said that he would cheat on you… Just don't let it get into your mind. I wasn't thinking when I said it, and I don't want it to make you over think things, okay? I'm sure you guys are fine."

Kurt smiled at her reassuring words, "Thanks, Rachel."

By six-thirty, though, Kurt was pacing back and forth in their apartment, bored. He had been ready for over two hours and just wanted to get out of the house.

"Maybe he's getting ready," Rachel offered when Kurt tried calling him again and didn't get an answer, "Why don't you just go over there?"

Kurt sighed, "I guess I have nothing better to do." He threw his shoes on and opened the door to leave, "I'll talk to you later." Rachel nodded in response, and at that, he was out the door. As he walked, he sent a text to Hayden, letting him know that he was on his way. He tried not to get worried about why he wasn't answering his phone because he figured it wasn't a big deal. They had planned going out. There was no way he had forgotten about it.

When he reached Hayden's door, Kurt knocked softly a couple of times and waited for him to answer. When he didn't right away, he started to get a little worried. He couldn't help it. Hayden almost always answered his phone. And now that he wasn't answering his door either, Kurt started to wonder where he could be.

Without thinking about it, he tried the doorknob and found that it was unlocked. He let himself inside, reminding himself that he had done it a million times and that Hayden wouldn't think it was weird if he did it again. As he made his way down the hallway, he told himself that Hayden was probably just getting ready and couldn't hear him. He headed to his boyfriend's bedroom and adjoining bathroom, and noticed that the bedroom door was closed.

_Of course. He's just getting ready. Stop freaking out._

When he got to the door, though, he swore he heard a small gasp from on the other side and he paused before he opened it. He waited for a moment, and there it was again. Hayden was definitely in there but it almost sounded like there was someone else there too...

Kurt tried to stop his heart from sinking as he grabbed the doorknob and twisted, praying that he was just being paranoid.

When he saw what was on the other side of the door, though, he wished he had never opened it.

Hayden was in there, as he suspected, but so was someone else. They were both naked, from what he could see, though they were mostly covered by a blanket (thankfully). Blanket or no blanket, though, Kurt could assume what was going on. His hand immediately flew to his mouth when he gasped and he started to back away, already feeling tears forming in his eyes.

Hayden and the unnamed guy had heard the door open, and had stopped moving when they saw Kurt. When Hayden started to get off of the bed, Kurt turned to run out of the room.

_Blaine was right. He was right all along, and you didn't believe him._

He could hear Hayden calling his name behind him, but his legs kept carrying him down the hallway and toward the front door. As he ran, he heard the other guy say something about how he was supposed to call before he showed up.

_Great. So they were trying to get a quick fuck in before your date._

Kurt threw the front door open and stormed out, determined to get as far away as possible from Hayden. He was stopped short, though, when a hand wrapped tightly around his wrist, spinning him around. Hayden was standing just inside the door in his boxers, eyes wide like a deer in the headlights.

"Let me go, Hayden," Kurt said, voice stern.

He held tight, though, "Kurt please, listen to me."

Kurt scoffed, "What can you _possibly_ say that is going to make things alright?" When he was quiet, Kurt continued, "I just walked in on you _fucking_ someone. Let me go."

Hayden didn't let go, though, "Please listen."

"How long?" Kurt asked instead. He really wanted to be as far away as possible, but since Hayden was holding onto him, he asked, "How long has this been going on?"

Hayden glanced back behind him, toward the bedroom before clearing his throat and quietly saying, "A while."

As if he couldn't feel any worse, his heart sunk even more, "How long?"

"About six months," Hayden answered quietly, looking down.

At that, Kurt ripped his arm from Hayden's grasp, "Goodbye, Hayden."

He had started to walk away when Hayden called after him, "Isn't this a little hypocritical of you, Kurt? You cheated on me too!"

Kurt then turned on his heel and stormed back to him. "Don't even _try_ to compare this to that. I kissed him. Once. And I felt bad and told you. You've been hiding this shit from me for _months_!" He yelled, his face inches from Hayden's

"Oh don't tell me you wouldn't have fucked Blaine if you had gotten the chance," Hayden spat.

Without thinking, Kurt smacked him in the face, then turned to walk away again without another word. He could hear Hayden yelling obscenities after him and calling him names but he kept walking without looking back and tried not to cry any more than he already had because Blaine was right all along.

_Blaine was right._


	16. 16 Stealing Tomorrow

_**Stealing Tomorrow**_

_I don't care what you think  
>Gonna take it away<br>While i am stealing tomorrow from today  
>Stealing tomorrow from today<br>Stealing tomorrow from today  
>Take it away<em>

_And i built this all around me_  
><em>I refuse to let anyone through<em>  
><em>Oh no, not even you<em>

* * *

><p><em>Don't cry. Don't cry. He's not worth it.<em>

Kurt was walking quickly down the sidewalk, looking up into the darkening sky every once in a while to stop the tears from spilling from his eyes. He felt like an idiot. He should have seen it coming. He should have noticed that Hayden was acting weird. He also felt like an idiot for not believing Blaine.

_Blaine._

He couldn't imagine how Blaine must be feeling. Kurt felt like a complete asshole for cutting Blaine out of his life just because his boyfriend – now ex-boyfriend – had asked him to. He also felt like an asshole for not believing Blaine when he had tried to warn him about Hayden. He hadn't been lying, he was just trying to be a good friend. Blaine was looking out for him, and Kurt felt like an asshole for not noticing it. He needed to apologize.

It wasn't until then that Kurt realized that he was nearing his apartment. He wanted to go home and sit on the couch and tell Rachel everything and cry to her, but not now. He couldn't handle that now. And he had more important things to do.

Kurt pulled his phone out of his pocket and called Rachel. She answered after only a couple of rings. "Hello?"

"Hey," He said, trying not to cry again. Somehow, just the sound of another person's made him want to.

She must have sensed that something was wrong by the tone of his voice because she was suddenly serious, "Kurt is everything okay?"

He took a deep shaky breath, "Yeah. Well, no. I don't know."

"What happened?"

"Nothing," He said quickly, "Uh, I'm not at Hayden's. I'm not heading home. I need to do something."

"Kurt, you're not making sense," She said, worried, "And you're kind of scaring me. What's going on?"

He sighed, "I'm fine. I'll be fine." As he spoke, he could feel his phone vibrating, signaling that he had a missed call. When he pulled his phone from his face and glanced at it, he saw that it was from Hayden, of course. "My phone is going to be off, but don't worry. I'll be home soon, okay?"

"Where are you going?"

"I'll call when I'm on my way home," Kurt said, avoiding the question.

"Kurt wait-"

"Love you, Rachel," He said before hanging up and immediately turning off his phone because his inbox was being flooded with texts from Hayden.

Kurt felt bad hanging up like that, but he couldn't handle the harassing text messages and calls and really didn't want to deal with it right now. Right now, he needed to get to Blaine's house and he needed to apologize.

Before he knew it, he was standing outside of Blaine's door, yet again. This time, he was more nervous than he had been before when he raised his hand and knocked softly on the door.

When he heard the knock on the door, Blaine wondered if Trent had forgotten his keys again. He had only left for a date about fifteen minutes earlier, and had a bad habit of forgetting things when he was nervous. He was ready to make fun of his roommate as he opened the door, but nothing could have prepared him for what was on the other side.

Kurt stood in the hallway, hugging his coat to himself, eyes red from crying. He looked at him like a deer in the headlights, and Blaine quickly realized that something was wrong and he was going to have to speak first because it looked like Kurt didn't know what to say.

"Hey…" He started, confused, "Are you okay?" The tears that he had been holding back spilled at the sound of Blaine's concerned voice and Kurt quickly shook his head no.

"Woah, woah… Hey," Blaine grabbed gently onto Kurt's shoulders and pulled him inside, shutting the door behind him. When Kurt still just stood there in front of him, arms crossed and crying, Blaine wrapped him in a warm hug, unsure of what else he could do. "Hey… You're okay, Kurt," He said softly, which almost caused Kurt to cry harder. "Can you tell me what happened?"

When Kurt shook his head no against him, still unable to speak, Blaine glanced over at the living room, "Do you want to sit?" At that, he nodded his head yes, so Blaine led him over to the couch where he sat him down and covered him in a blanket, unsure if he was shaking because he was crying or because he was cold.

After a few minutes, Kurt finally managed to regain some of his composure. He managed to stop his body from shaking and Blaine had found him some tissues to dry his eyes and blow his nose. He held the blanket close to him as he finally looked at Blaine again.

"Do you want to talk about it or-"

"I'm so sorry, Blaine," Kurt cut him off, voice shaky.

"About what?" Blaine asked.

Kurt sighed, "Everything. About being an asshole to you, and ignoring you for a month…" He took a deep breath, "And for not believing you about Hayden."

Blaine's eyes widened, "You-"

"I walked in on them," Kurt said, looking at him.

"When?" Blaine asked numbly. He couldn't imagine how Kurt must have felt.

"Like… Forty-five minutes ago," Kurt replied.

"You mean this just happened?" Blaine asked, still trying to grasp what was going on and why Kurt had decided to come to him afterward instead of going straight home to Rachel, his best friend.

Kurt nodded. "I didn't want to go home. I felt like I needed to apologize to you. You were just trying to look out for me and stop me from seeing what I just saw, and I was an asshole and didn't believe you."

"You don't have to apologize to me, Kurt," Blaine assured, but Kurt just shook his head.

"No, I do." He looked back up at Blaine, at his big hazel eyes, and silently wished that he had met him before Hayden. Blaine was such a good person and probably a perfect boyfriend, and Kurt felt like he was fucking it up. "I wasn't fair to you and you deserve to be mad at me."

Blaine shrugged, "I can't be."

"Why?" Kurt asked, still watching Blaine intently.

"I like you too much to be mad," He replied simply. For some reason, Blaine decided that it was now or never. He needed to tell Kurt how he felt. Kurt watched him with wide eyes as he continued. He sighed, "Look, Kurt. I like you a lot. I know this is probably a really bad time to be telling you this, and if you don't want to hear it, just say so. But I think you're one of the few people who has actually managed to break through this wall that I didn't even know I had, and I don't want to just push you away like everyone else. I _want_ you in my life. So no, I can't be mad at you."

Kurt was silent for a moment, watching his face for any sign of doubt. When he couldn't find it, Kurt crawled across the couch, closing the gap between them so he was only a few inches away from Blaine. "Do you really mean that?"

Blaine nodded, "I do."

At that, Kurt leaned in even closer and placed his hand on Blaine's cheek. They locked eyes for a moment before Kurt asked softly, "Is this okay?" He knew he shouldn't be doing it. He had just gotten hurt and the last thing he wanted was to get hurt again, or drag Blaine into his mess. He shouldn't be doing it, but when Blaine nodded, he couldn't help himself. He leaned in and pressed his lips softly to Blaine's.

Blaine's hand held onto Kurt's as they kissed, and when he inhaled through his nose, he could smell his sweet scent. He scooted closer to him so their bodies were touching, and he tilted his head to deepen the kiss. Kurt sighed out through his nose and relaxed into Blaine. He knew he shouldn't be doing it, but it felt so right.

After a moment, Blaine pulled away and pressed his forehead to Kurt's. Their breathing was heavy and they took the moment to gather themselves in silence, planning the next move. They sat there like that for a few seconds, smiling to themselves, before Kurt spoke up, "Should we… I mean, do you think this is a bad idea? Or…" Kurt stumbled over his words, trying to figure out how to ask him if they should be kissing.

Blaine watched him carefully for a moment. Now that he wasn't intoxicated by Kurt's lips and taste and smell, he had a chance to think clearly. Though he wanted to, he knew they probably shouldn't. "I dunno," He breathed out, trying not to sound like an asshole, "I mean… I just… Maybe we shouldn't… After all, you're still kind of recovering…"

Kurt was immediately scooting away from Blaine sitting farther from him on the couch, looking worried. The same thing had happened last time he came over. They had kissed, things got heated, then Blaine stopped him and kicked him out, "You're right. A lot has happened tonight… I'm not really thinking clearly. I should go." He went to stand but Blaine grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"I'm not kicking you out," Blaine said quickly, half smiling. Kurt allowed himself to sit back down as Blaine took his hand and talked. "Trust me when I say that I do like you, Kurt. And I want this._ But,_ I don't want this to be a rebound. A lot has happened to you tonight. The last thing you should be worrying about is me. You came here for someone to talk to, and I can be that. Okay?"

Kurt nodded slowly, "Okay…"

Blaine smiled reassuringly, "I can wait. I'm not going anywhere. If and when you're ready for something more, I'll be here. But until then, stay here and watch a movie. Get your mind off of things."

Kurt smiled back, "Alright."

The two of them settled down on the couch next to eachother and turned on a movie. "So… are you okay?" Blaine asked as the movie began, concerned about Kurt. His mind had wandered to what he had looked like when he walked in the door.

Kurt cleared his throat, "Yeah. Well, I don't know. I mean, he definitely made it easy for me to walk away…" When Blaine just looked at him, he continued, "He uh… he brought you up. And tried to compare what happened between us to what he was doing. And he called me a lot of names." Just thinking about it again made Kurt's chest tight and he knew that it was probably a good thing that he and Blaine were just being friends for now. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he needed to get over Hayden before rushing into something else.

"I'm so sorry, Kurt," Blaine offered, feeling bad.

"No," Kurt shook his head, "I should have believed you. _I'm_ sorry." When it got quiet between them, Kurt turned his attention to the TV, "So, what movie are we watching?"

About an hour into the movie, Kurt passed out on the couch, his head on Blaine's lap. And Blaine couldn't help but smile at how peaceful Kurt looked sleeping. It was only about ten when the movie ended and just as Blaine was about to get up to turn the TV off and get Kurt a blanket, his phone started ringing from in the kitchen. He gently got up and replaced his leg with a pillow under Kurt's head, then made his way to his phone.

He wasn't surprised to see Rachel's name on his screen when he picked it up. Kurt had mentioned that his phone was off because Hayden kept calling.

"Hey, Rachel," Blaine said softly, making sure Kurt was still asleep.

"Please tell me he's over there," Her voice sounded worried.

"Yeah, he's fine," Blaine replied, "He's just sleeping on my couch. He's had a rough night."

She let out a relieved sigh, "Yeah, I figured… Hayden showed up here screaming about him. Thank god I had a friend over. We had to threaten him with calling the cops to get him to leave."

Blaine shook his head, "Shit, I'm sorry, Rachel."

"It's alright," She replied, "So… what exactly happened? I'm assuming they broke up, but Kurt didn't really say anything."

"I don't want to get to into it," Blaine said carefully, "I'd rather he tell you everything… But he baasically walked in on Hayden with someone else."

"Oh my god," Rachel breathed out, "Is he okay?"

Blaine glanced back over to the couch where he was sleeping peacefully, "Yeah, I think he'll be okay."

"Is he staying there?"

"Yeah, I think so," Blaine said, still watching Kurt, "I'll have him call when he's on his way in the morning."

"Thank you, Blaine," She said softly.

He smiled, even though she couldn't see him, "Of course. I'll talk to you later, Rachel."

After he hung up, Blaine crossed the room and pulled a bigger blanket out of the closet and threw it over Kurt, who smiled in his sleep and pulled it up to his chin. Just as he did so, the front door opened and Trent walked in. "Hey," He called when he walked in the door, and Blaine shushed him and pointed down at Kurt.

Trent's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head when he saw the other boy sleeping soundly on the couch. "What is he doing here?" He whispered harshly.

Blaine scratched at the back of his head and looked down, "He... he was having a rough night." When Trent just looked at him expectantly he explained, "He walked in on his boyfriend with someone else."

Trent shook his head, "That's rough."

Blaine nodded, "He needed a friend."

Trent reluctantly agreed and went to bed shortly after telling Blaine about how his date was. Blaine, on the other hand, stayed up for a little while longer, sitting on the couch opposite of Kurt and watching TV. Every once in a while he would glance over at the sleeping boy and make sure he was okay. For now, he was. Tomorrow, he was going to have to deal with what had happened with Hayden.

_Thankfully he has a friend like you to help him through it_.

Blaine had finally accepted the fact that he and Kurt needed to be friends first if they ever wanted anything more. Obviously, rushing into things was out of the question.

When he was finally too tired to keep his eyes open, Blaine retreated into his bedroom with one last look back in Kurt's direction.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Blaine was woken up by a violent pounding on his bedroom door, followed by Trent calling his name, "Blaine, if you don't have Kurt in your bed with you, I think he left."<p>

Blaine rubbed his eyes and sat up and called back sleepily, "What?"

"Is Kurt in there?" Trent asked louder.

Blaine glanced around, "Uh… no. Why would he be?"

At that, Trent decided that it was safe to enter the room and opened the door, letting light in. He smiled apologetically at Blaine for waking him up, "I think your friend left."

Blaine raised an eyebrow, "What? Why?"

"Well he's not on the couch and he's not in here…" He said, pointing out the obvious for a sleepy Blaine, "And his shoes and coat are gone and so is his phone."

Blaine silently wondered to himself why Kurt would have left without saying goodbye and stood to see for himself. Sure enough, when he walked into the living room, Kurt was gone and the blanket he had been using was folded neatly at the end of the couch. It was as if he had never been there.

"But why would he…" Blaine trailed off, looking around the room as if he were going to find a clue.

Trent, who was now standing next to him shrugged, "I don't know. He's probably got a lot on his mind. It seems like he doesn't really know what he wants."

Blaine sighed in defeat and sat down on the couch, where Kurt had been the night before. He had hoped that they had resolved things. He had told Kurt how he felt, and Kurt felt the same. They were off to a new start. He could have sworn things were going well. Why would Kurt leave?

* * *

><p><strong>JUST A FOREWARNING EVERYONE:<br>****I _always_ forget to do this, but just so you all know, there's only 5 chapters of this fic left after this chapter. I figured I'd just give you all a heads up so you're prepared, cause I hate blindsiding you with an ending. Also, I SHOULD have another fic ready to post as soon as this one is over, if not sooner!**

**-Shannon**


	17. 17 Grand Theft Autumn

_**Grand Theft Autumn**_

* * *

><p>"Cooper!" Blaine practically jumped into his older bother's arms when he greeted him at the airport a few days before thanksgiving. Cooper, though he always tried to act calm, cool, and collected, couldn't help but grin and hug his brother back tightly. It had been far too long since they had seen eachother. Right out of high school, Cooper had moved to California to pursue a career in acting, and they only really saw eachother on holiday while Blaine was still in school. They hadn't seen eachother in over a year, now that Blaine was in New York.<p>

"I missed you, buddy," Cooper said as they pulled apart.

Blaine grinned up at him, "I missed you too."

"How are you?" He asked as they walked through the airport to grab his luggage.

"I'm good," Blaine answered cheerfully, "I'm so excited that you're here. You haven't even seen my apartment."

"I know," Cooper exclaimed, excited, "Is Trent going to be there?"

Blaine shook his head, "Nah, he went home for thanksgiving. It's just me and you."

"Good, I don't want anyone to take away from my time with my little brother," He replied, mussing his hair. Cooper found his luggage pretty easily, and by the time they got back to the apartment, it was dinner time. Blaine had just planned on cooking something, but Cooper insisted that they go out to dinner together, so they ended up at some nice restaurant that Blaine had never been to.

"How's the music thing going?" Cooper asked before taking a bite of salad.

"Good," Blaine replied, "Actually, I have a gig this weekend and I really wanted you to come."

"Only if I get to do a song with you," He said half-jokingly, smiling in Blaine's direction.

He rolled his eyes, "You've only been here for a few hours and you're already trying to steal my spotlight?"

"Oh, you'd love the song I have in mind," Cooper retorted, taking another bite of his food.

"I'm sure I will," Blaine mumbled.

"So…" Cooper started a few minutes later, after they had finished their salads and gotten their food, "Who's this Kurt guy that Trent mentioned?" He was half teasing Blaine, and half in protective older brother mode. Though he was usually a really laid back person, he was different around his brother. He felt as though he needed to keep Blaine safe. He knew that his little brother was too forgiving and too easy to push around, and he tried to be there as much as he could to make sure that he wasn't getting hurt.

Blaine sighed, "I don't wanna talk about it. Not now at least."

Cooper raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "Okay, but now you _have _to tell me when we get home."

Blaine nodded, "When we get home."

The rest of their dinner was nice. The two of them talked more than they ate and by the fourth time their waitress came to their table to ask if they were done, they decided to leave. Cooper convinced Blaine not to take a taxi home because he wanted to see the city, so they walked the forty-five minutes back to the apartment.

To Blaine's surprise, though, the walk went by fast. Time always seemed to go by quickly when he was with his older brother, and the walk reminded him how much he really had missed Cooper. He was his best friend growing up, and when Cooper moved out during Blaine's freshman year, it was definitely hard.

The two of them kicked off their shoes and sat down on the couch together once they got home and Blaine turned on a movie that Cooper had picked out on their way back. Before the opening credits were even over, though, Cooper spoke up.

"Okay seriously, it's going to bug the shit out of me until you tell me," He blurted, breaking the silence.

"Tell you what?" Blaine asked, tearing his eyes from the screen.

"About this guy that Trent mentioned. What's going on between you two? Do I get to meet him? Do I need to kick his ass?" Even though he was half joking, Cooper was in protective big brother mode again. It wasn't even a year after Cooper moved out that Blaine had his accident, and he never seemed to forgive himself for not being there to protect him or help him. Ever since that night Blaine got jumped after the dance, Cooper was the most protective older brother anyone could ask for.

Blaine laughed, "Coop, it's nothing."

He shook his head, "Nuh uh, you're not getting rid of me that easy. The way Trent mentioned it, it is definitely not nothing. What's going on?"

"Of course Trent would tell you," Blaine groaned, rolling his eyes. When Cooper was still just watching him, he glanced at the TV, "We're missing the beginning of the movie."

Cooper quickly grabbed the remote and paused it, "Now we're not. Now talk."

Blaine threw his arms up in frustration, "Fine. Kurt is this guy that I met. He always came into my work in the morning and we really hit it off."

"And…" Cooper pushed, grinning mischievously.

By that point, Blaine finally accepted that his obnoxious brother wasn't going to shut up until he told him everything. He took a deep breath. "Well, I liked him and it seemed like the feeling was mutual, and then he told me that he had a boyfriend…"

"Ouch," Cooper interjected, causing Blaine to roll his eyes.

"Then one night he asked me to out to the bar with him and some friends. And that night as I was leaving, he kissed me…" He waited for another smartass comment from Cooper, and when he didn't get one, he continued, "So then he told his boyfriend what happened, and his boyfriend told him that he wasn't allowed to see me anymore, which is understandable, I guess."

Blaine decided to speed things up because he really didn't want to tell his brother about all of the ups and downs of the past few months, "Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, he caught his boyfriend cheating on him-"

"Ironic," Cooper cut in, "So let me guess, he came running to you?"

"Yeah," Blaine replied, "And he kissed me again, but I told him that I can't be a rebound. I let him sleep on my couch, and the next morning he was gone."

"And when was the last time you heard from him?"

"That night," Blaine sighed, "So about two weeks ago." Blaine had tried calling Kurt that day, but he never answered and never called back. The only reason he knew that something bad hadn't happened was because Rachel had sent him a text letting him know that Kurt was home. He wasn't sure if Kurt had decided that they shouldn't be friends or what his reason was, but he still hadn't been in to get coffee in the morning and Blaine never heard back from him. As disappointed as Blaine was, he couldn't say that he didn't see it coming, and he was attempting to get over it. He had decided that maybe he and Kurt weren't meant to be, afterall.

Cooper shook his head, "I'm sorry, Blaine. That sucks."

"Gee, thanks for the wonderful insight," Blaine joked back.

Cooper laughed, "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. It does suck though. I don't like hearing about people treating my little brother like that. He obviously doesn't know what he wants."

"Obviously," Blaine repeated, looking down.

"Well, don't think about him, okay?" Cooper said, trying to cheer him up. He started the movie again, "I'm here now, and if we see him, I'll kick his ass for you!"

Blaine laughed, "Thank you, Coop."

Thanksgiving was nothing big or fancy. Since it was just Blaine and Cooper, they decided to make a turkey and some mashed potatoes together and watched movies and ate all night. They were definitely both happy to be together for the holiday, though.

The Sunday after thanksgiving, Blaine had a gig that the local venue that he always played at. Cooper had managed to convince him to do a duet for one of his songs and they quickly learned the song that he chose. Though it was an older song and it took a lot of begging from Cooper, the two brothers did sound really good singing it together, and Blaine couldn't wait for his friends to hear them. Blaine also couldn't help but think that it was a perfect song to describe his "relationship" with Kurt, but he decided not to mention that to his brother.

When they got to the venue, there were quite a few people there. Melissa and some of her friends and people that she and Blaine worked with were sitting by the bar and greeted the two of them when they walked in. There were a few other people that Blaine recognized from his other shows there and quite a few new faces, too. He was the second act, so while they waited, he and Cooper had a beer together at the bar.

"Nervous?" Cooper asked, grinning at his little brother.

Blaine smiled, "Nope. I think those years with The Warblers basically killed any nerves I could ever have."

"Unless you were about to play at Madison Square Garden," Cooper offered.

Blaine laughed, "That's the exception."

The band before Blaine went on was good and their set seemed to fly by. Around eight, Blaine was getting ready to go on stage. He played three of his own songs before calling his brother on stage. "This is my brother, Cooper," Blaine explained into the microphone, "He was in town, and I figured we could do a song together for you guys tonight, sound good?" His question was met by a few cheers and whistles from the crowd, to which Cooper grinned at. As if his ego didn't need a bigger boost.

The two of them began to play their cover and as they did, Blaine's eyes met a pair watching him from the other end of the room. Of course, they were none other than Kurt's. Blaine could feel his heart involuntarily speed up a bit at the thought of Kurt watching him sing again and he had to look down at his guitar to stop himself from messing up. Thankfully, it was Cooper's verse of the song when he noticed Kurt, and he had enough time to gather himself before he joined.

"_You need him. I could be him...__  
><em>_I could be an accident but I'm still trying.__  
><em>_That's more than I can say for him."_

As he sang the lines he watched Kurt's face, and was almost glad that he walked in at that very second. Maybe if he took the lyrics to heart, he'd figure things out.

_"Where is your boy tonight? I hope he is a gentleman.__  
><em>_Maybe he won't find out what I know.  
>You were the last good thing about this part of town"<em>

Blaine was glad that his brother was singing the chorus with him because the words made his voice crack. It was as if the song was made for him to sing to Kurt. It seemed to go on forever, mostly because of that pair of eyes watching him from across the room, and Blaine was relieved when the audience cheered when it was done.

_At least you didn't mess it up in front of him._

Blaine finished his set with two more original songs and was off the stage before he knew it. His brother seemed to notice that something was off as they walked back toward their spot at the bar by Melissa, and he put his arm around him. "Is everything okay?"

"Kurt is here," Blaine breathed, just loud enough for Cooper to hear.

"No way?" He asked, obviously looking around, "Which one is he?"

"He's standing by the door," Blaine said, "Try not to make it obvious."

"Holy shit, the tall skinny kid who's dressed all nice?" Cooper asked, obviously staring.

Blaine elbowed him, "I said_ don't_ make it obvious. And yes, that's him."

"God, did you have to stand on a chair to kiss him?" Cooper joked.

"And there's the short joke," Blaine said, laughing, "I was surprised you hadn't said one already."

"Was waiting for the perfect moment," Cooper mumbled, turning back to his brother, "But he's not bad."

"Coming from my straight and over-protective brother, I'll take that as a good thing," Blaine joked back.

"Are you going to say hi?" Cooper asked, testing Blaine.

He knew that if he said yes, his brother would give him shit for it. Besides, he sort of wanted to prove to himself that he wasn't going to get pushed around anymore, "Nah, I'll let him come over here."

While Blaine ordered them two more beers, Cooper glanced around again, and when he did, he noticed that Kurt was practically staring him down. When he saw that Cooper had noticed, he immediately turned around and pushed the door open, disappearing into the night. "I think your friend just left," Cooper said, turning back around.

"What? Why?" Blaine asked, glancing to where Kurt was standing to find that he was in fact gone.

"No idea," Cooper answered, "But he didn't really look like he liked me very much…"

* * *

><p>Kurt wasn't necessarily bothered by the fact that Blaine was doing a duet with another guy on stage (even if the song they did was very, very fitting), but he definitely was bothered the he was buying drinks for himself and that guy after his set was done.<p>

It took two weeks, but Kurt had finally figured out what he had wanted all along. He should have seen the signs – the little hints that it was Blaine he was supposed to be with. That morning when he left Blaine's without telling him, he went home and cried to Rachel. He wasn't crying because he was upset about Hayden, though, he was crying because he was scared. He was scared that he had messed up his chance with Blaine and he was scared of even trying to pursue a relationship with him.

From the beginning, Kurt had unknowingly made things more complicated than they needed to be. He could have easily been upfront with Blaine and told him that he had a boyfriend, but he didn't. Instead, he let himself believe that they could be just friends, even though he had felt a spark from the very first time that they had talked. He could have let Blaine go after he told him about Hayden, but instead, he tried yet again to be friends with him, and they ended up kissing more than once. He even ended up cheating on his own boyfriend because he was sure that he could control himself around Blaine, and he obviously couldn't. Then, when Kurt tried to cut Blaine out of his life completely, Blaine was still there for him, trying to warn him about Hayden.

The problem was, the entire time that they had known eachother, Kurt had been trying so hard to be _just friends_ with Blaine, when they were meant to be something more. That morning, when Kurt awoke on Blaine's couch, fully clothed and covered in his _friend's_ blanket, he knew he needed to leave. He was terrified that he was going to ruin things even more by trying to just be friends with Blaine again. The talk that they had the night before left them just as friends, and Kurt knew that as much as he tried, they couldn't just be that.

He spent two weeks trying to figure it out.

Finally on Thanksgiving night, when he was alone in his apartment, he called Rachel, who had gone back to Ohio for the holiday.

"Kurt, I've been trying not to say anything this entire time," She told him, "I wanted you to figure it out on your own, but you obviously need my help here. You and Blaine can't be friends. It's that simple. You were supposed to be with him, not Hayden, from the very beginning. Just imagine, if you would have gone to Dalton our junior year when you were getting bullied, you would have met him, and chances are, you probably would have dated him. And I can guarantee that you probably still would have been with him. You need to be with him. You can't just be friends."

It took a couple of days after he talked to Rachel, but Kurt finally gathered the courage to talk to Blaine. He knew he was going to have to spill his heart out, and he was prepared to do so. He thought about going to Blaine's house, but he wasn't sure if he had gone home for Thanksgiving. He knew it wasn't something he could do over the phone, so he asked around and found out that Blaine was indeed in town, and that he was playing a show Sunday night.

When Kurt walked in the doors that night, Blaine was just getting on stage. He watched him play his first three songs flawlessly, and then for his fourth song, someone joined him on stage. Kurt couldn't deny the fact that the other boy was definitely good looking, and for a moment he felt a little surge of jealousy when he watched the two of them sing together because they definitely seemed to have good chemistry. He wanted to be the one on stage with Blaine.

He wanted to go talk to Blaine after his set. He really did. But even when he got off stage, he was still with that guy. And when Blaine bought them both drinks, that was it. Kurt watched the two of them for a few minutes, and when the other guy turned around to look at him for the third time, he gave up. Blaine had obviously mentioned something about him, and by the looks of it, he was already moving on.

Kurt turned and walked out the door without looking back. As he walked back home, he had to stop the tears from falling from his eyes. He had been too late. He wanted to tell Blaine how he really felt, and he had been too late. He was going to have a lot to tell Rachel about when she got home.


	18. 18 Oh My Stars

**__First off, thank you to the people who pointed out my terrible lack of continuity in the last chapter, haha. I would go back and change it if it didn't mean deleting the entire chapter and all of the other lovely reviews, so for continuity's sake, pretend that Kurt DIDN'T hear Blaine introduce Cooper as his brother in the last chapter. I apologize for my terrible proofreading skills. Haha  
>ALSO, I <em>adore<em> this chapter, and wanted to get it up ASAP, so enjoy! It's my favorite!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Oh My Stars<strong>_

* * *

><p>"I don't want you to leave," Blaine groaned as he hugged Cooper goodbye for the millionth time. They were standing in the middle of the airport on Wednesday morning and were having a hard time saying goodbye. It was ten minutes before Cooper's plane was due to leave.<p>

"I know," Cooper replied softly, "But I'll be back soon, I promise."

"I'm going to miss you," Blaine said, finally pulling away.

"I'll miss you too," Cooper returned, smiling at his little brother. He glanced toward his gate where people were starting to line up and file in, then turned back to Blaine, "I really have to go, but I'll call when I'm home, okay?"

Blaine nodded, "Alright."

"Love you," Cooper said, turning to walk away. Before he reached the gate, though, he turned back around, "Let me know what happens with that boy!"

Blaine smiled in return and waved his brother on his way. He waited until he had disappeared from sight before making his way back outside. In the taxi on the way home, Blaine's thoughts drifted to Kurt, and what his brother had said about him while he had been home.

_They had gotten home late Sunday night after the show and were sitting at the Kitchen table together talking. "You seem off," Cooper had commented when he noticed that Blaine looked upset, "What's wrong?"_

_"It's nothing," Blaine answered, though it definitely wasn't nothing. He couldn't help but be a little upset that Kurt had come to his show and didn't even have the guts to say hi._

_"It's about that Kurt guy, huh?" Cooper guessed. When Blaine shot him a look, he just grinned, "Blaine, you can't hide anything from me. What's on your mind?"_

_Blaine sighed, "I don't know… It's just been so back and forth with the two of us. One minute he wants to just be friends, then the next he's kissing me, then the next he's crying about his ex-boyfriend to me."_

_"And then he comes to see you and leaves," Cooper finished for him._

_"Exactly."_

_"It's a tough one…" He replied, thinking for a moment. It was silent in the small apartment until Cooper finally spoke up again. "From the way he looked when he saw you with someone else at the bar," He said, gesturing to himself, "He definitely likes you."_

_"He sure has a funny way of showing it," Blaine mumbled then waited for his brother to go on._

_"I hate to say it," Cooper continued, "But I think the best thing you can do is just wait for him to come to you."_

_Blaine raised an eyebrow, "So I'm just supposed to sit here and wait for him to come crawling back to me?" He usually trusted his older brother's advice, but he was a little weary. He didn't want to set himself up to get hurt if Kurt wasn't going to come back._

_"From how you described him, I don't know if he'll necessarily be crawling… but yeah, I guess. I'm not saying you should sit around and wait, but I don't think you should try to contact him unless he contacts you. Like I said before, he obviously doesn't know what he wants…"_

_Blaine sighed, "Great."_

_"But," Cooper continued, "I think when he finally figures that out, you won't have to worry about him changing his mind."_

Blaine couldn't help but wonder how long exactly it was going to take Kurt to figure things out as the taxi rounded the corner to his apartment building. Either way, though, the last thing he wanted to be was one of those people who needed a significant other to be happy. He didn't want to sit around waiting for someone to come and save him.

Blaine and Cooper also had a teary eyed conversation before they left for the airport about how Blaine needed to be stronger. Cooper had told his little brother that he was worried about people taking advantage of his kindness and Blaine had promised that he wouldn't let it happen anymore. Because of that, Blaine knew that even if Kurt came back, they were going to need to have a serious talk about things.

Blaine paid the cab driver and got out of the car to head to his apartment. He figured he would just watch movies the rest of the night until he got tired since Trent was on yet another date and he had the next day off work. He made his way up the stairs slowly, thinking about what movie he would watch, and if he hadn't been looking down he wouldn't have noticed the boy sitting on the ground by his door.

Normally, Blaine would have stopped in his tracks and freaked out about Kurt waiting for him in his hallway, but after promising his brother that he was going to be stronger, he kept walking. Kurt stood as Blaine neared, and Blaine couldn't help but find it comical that he had just been wondering when Kurt was going to show his face again. Finally, when he was close enough, Blaine decided to break the silence, "Hey."

"Hey," Kurt returned, scratching the back of his neck, "I think we need to talk."

Blaine pulled his keys out of his pocket as he walked up to his door. He nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I think so too. Come in."

He opened the door and Kurt walked in, shutting it behind him. Blaine tossed his keys onto the kitchen table and went to sit down in the living room, trying to keep a level head. "Where's Trent?" Kurt asked, following him.

"Out," Blaine replied, shrugging. He felt bad being short with Kurt, but at the same time he knew he needed to be. "What do you want to talk about?"

Kurt sighed and took a seat next to Blaine on the couch but didn't look up at him. Instead, he stared intently at his hands like they were the most interesting things he had ever seen. When he finally realized that Blaine was waiting for him to speak, he shook his head and snapped himself out of it.

"I guess I need to start by apologizing," Kurt said softly, unsure of where to start. He had decided to go to Blaine's not because Rachel had harassed him to or because his friends said he needed to, but because he knew it was going to kill him until he did. Because nobody knew he was there when he left, though, he didn't get a pep talk from Rachel, which he was sure she would have been more than happy to give. Instead, he had to figure out what to say all by himself, which he figured would probably be for the best anyway.

Kurt was nervous, though, when he finally looked back up at Blaine. Though he had over an hour to plan out what to say between walking to his apartment and waiting for him to get home, he was at a loss for words. "I, uh…" He took a deep breath, "I really should have planned this out better, but I knew I needed to come talk to you. I'm really sorry for playing with your feelings, Blaine. I don't know if you can forgive me, but I truly am sorry."

From the look on his face, Blaine knew that Kurt was being sincere, but he didn't want to let him off that easily. He wanted an explanation. Normally, he would have said it was okay and that that would have been the end of it, but Cooper's voice was still nagging at him to be strong, and that was exactly what he was going to do.

Kurt took Blaine's silence as a cue to continue, so he did. He had decided on the way to Blaine's that this was it. He needed to lay everything out on the table and they needed to figure out what they were going to do. Kurt knew that they couldn't just keep dancing around the fact that they had feelings for eachother, and he was sure that Blaine felt the same way. Things needed to be settled. "God… I don't even know where to start…" Kurt groaned, trying to sort out all of his thoughts.

"The beginning?" Blaine offered. He could tell that it was tough for Kurt, and the compassionate side of him wanted to help.

"Right," Kurt said, nodding to himself, "Well… When I started dating Hayden, he was my first real serious boyfriend. You know… the type of relationship that's supposed to last." He looked over at Blaine to make sure that bringing up Hayden wasn't upsetting him, and when he didn't look bothered, he continued, "I think I that I got into that relationship because it was the right time in my life. Everything was going the way I wanted it to, and naturally the next step was to find someone I wanted to share it with. I think I started dating Hayden because it was the right time, but not the right person. Rachel's told me that quite a few times, but I think now I finally understand what she meant. Hayden wasn't 'the one'. He wasn't the person I was supposed to be with."

Blaine found himself wondering where the conversation was going but he nodded Kurt on, waiting for him to continue. Kurt cleared his throat, "Look, the reason I left that morning was because I was scared. I was scared of just being friends with you. And then I took a couple of weeks to think about things and I realized that I _can't _just be friends with you. Every time that I've tried to tell myself that we can just be friends, it has ended badly, and I think that's because we're not meant to be friends. Hayden wasn't the right person, Blaine, but I think that you are."

Though Blaine was quiet, his mind definitely was not. His brother had been completely right. When Kurt came back it was because he knew exactly what he wanted. What Blaine hadn't been expecting, though, was that Kurt wanted exactly what he wanted. Blaine had known that they couldn't just be friends, but he had tried because he thought that it was what Kurt wanted.

Kurt took his silence as a bad sign and he took a shaky breath before speaking again, "When I saw you with that guy at the bar the other night, I knew it. I couldn't stand the thought of you being with someone else, and that's when I knew that it was you all along. So there it is. It's all out in the open. I want to be with you Blaine. I feel like I'm _supposed_ to be with you. I don't know if you feel the same way, but that's how I feel." When Blaine was still quiet, just looking at him, he broke the silence again, "Can you please just say something?"

"Yes," Blaine said quietly, trying to figure out how to tell him, "I- I feel the same way. I always have. I just… I didn't know that you wanted it too." He could feel tears pricking at his eyes at the words and he looked up to stop himself from crying.

"Oh thank god," Kurt whispered to himself, "But what about that other guy?"

Blaine laughed, "That was my _brother_."

At that, Kurt laughed too, breaking the tension, "Of course it was. God, I feel stupid."

"Don't," Blaine said softly, taking Kurt's hand and smiling.

"Blaine?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I kiss you now? For real this time?"

Blaine laughed nervously and nodded quickly, still trying not to cry, "Yeah."

At that, Kurt leaned in, still holding Blaine's hand, his other hand coming up to cup Blaine's cheek. Their eyes met and held eachother's gaze for what seemed like forever, and when Kurt finally decided that Blaine was absolutely sure, he leaned in and let their lips touch. The kiss was soft and passionate and heated all at once. The past few months of tension that had built up finally disappeared as Kurt's fingers ran through Blaine's hair and down to his neck. They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity before pulling apart, their foreheads still pressed together.

"I feel like that was how our first kiss was supposed to be," Blaine said softly, his breath hitting Kurt's lips.

Kurt nodded and hummed in response before leaning in for another kiss. It was slow and soft and electric and both of them knew that this was how it was supposed to be all along. When Kurt's taste filled his mouth, Blaine found himself wondering how he had managed to live without it for so long, and was determined not to let it go. Kurt's tongue was gentle and soft against his own, and because the kiss was so slow and perfect, Blaine hadn't even noticed that they had laid down on the couch until they parted again and Kurt's body was on top of his own.

It wasn't because Kurt was trying to seduce him or go any further, though, it was just how things happened, and when the two boys leaned in again, it felt right. It felt perfect.

As they kissed, Kurt's hands found themselves running up and down Blaine's sides softly before coming to rest at the hem of his shirt. It wasn't until he started toying with the fabric that either boy realized what was happening. They parted again and Blaine sat up on his elbows, Kurt straddling his hips. "Should I… I mean- Is this? Do you…?" Kurt stuttered and trailed off, unsure of what to do or say.

At that, Blaine leaned forward and took Kurt's hands. Kurt let go of the fabric of Blaine's v-neck and let the other boy guide his hands until they were splayed out across his bare stomach, underneath the shirt. When Kurt just waited for him to say something, Blaine smiled, breathless, "It's okay."

At that, Blaine took one hand to hold himself upright on the couch and used the other to grab the back of Kurt's neck gently and pull him in for another kiss. Knowing that it was okay, Kurt let his hands explore Blaine's skin under his shirt as they kissed again, this time more heated. When they reached Blaine's pecs then his shoulders, Kurt let his hands trail back down so they were back at his hips. He began to toy with the hem of the shirt again, and as much as he didn't want to, he pulled away again. "Can I?"

Blaine just simply smiled this little half smirk in return and Kurt would be damned if it wasn't the sexiest thing he had ever seen. At that, the younger boy lifted his own arms over his head and Kurt took that as a sign that it was okay and pulled the shirt over his head. He let himself drink in the sight of the shirtless boy beneath him before gulping nervously and leaning down again. Their lips just barely touched and they sat like that for a moment, just breathing before Blaine finally tilted his head up and closed the gap again.

Kurt had been scared at first that the first kiss was going to be the end of it, but at that point, neither boy wanted to stop, nor were they going to. Kurt let their mouths part again and started kissing lower down Blaine's neck and collar bone, which he quickly learned that he loved. He pulled away after a moment to make sure that Blaine was okay with what he was doing, and he was met with dark, lust blown eyes staring back up at him. "Do you…" Kurt started again, breathless and nervous.

"Let's go to my room," Blaine said, quiet and shaky, but sure.

Kurt just simply leaned down to kiss Blaine again before pulling back and looking him in the eyes, "You're sure?"

Blaine nodded, "I'm sure."

At that, Kurt stood and helped a shirtless Blaine off the couch. Blaine then took his hand gently and led the way down the hall to the bedroom. He kicked his own shoes off as they entered the room and Kurt copied his actions, only with his boots. When he was done taking his shoes off, Blaine was sitting on his bed expectantly and Kurt couldn't help but let out a little gasp.

"Fuck," Kurt muttered as he crossed the room to straddle Blaine's hips.

"Hmm?" Blaine let his eyes close as Kurt's fingers trailed across his chest and ribs.

"You're gorgeous," Kurt finally let out and Blaine smiled up at him before bringing him down for another kiss. Blaine's hands found themselves trailing up the front of Kurt's shirt, and when he was certain that the other boy didn't mind, he pulled his cardigan off then pulled his undershirt over his head and tossed it across the room. The two boys sat like that for a moment, drinking eachother in before Blaine leaned forward and attached his lips to Kurt's chest, earning another gasp from the other boy.

Everything was heated and electric and perfect as the two kissed again, and Blaine found himself thinking that this was how things were supposed to be all along. Though he and Kurt had been through a lot, it was worth it. The only thing he was still worried about, though was rushing into things. "I don't want to rush things," Blaine breathed out finally, his lips brushing softly against Kurt's as he spoke, "I mean, I don't want to ruin this…"

Kurt smiled against Blaine's lips and pecked him quickly before responding quietly, "It isn't rushing if we've both been waiting so long…"

It was cliché and Kurt would probably kick himself for saying it the next day, but in that moment, it was true. And it was what Blaine needed to hear. He pulled Kurt down for another deep kiss before his hands found their way to his hips. His thumbs circled little patterns into the other boy's skin nervously as they kissed. "Can I?" He panted in between kisses.

Kurt pressed his forehead against Blaine's and nodded quickly. "Please."

Blaine's hands shakily found their way to the button of Kurt's jeans and after a couple of failed tries, he finally popped them open and slid the zipper down. Kurt then lifted his hips up so Blaine could slide the tight jeans down his thighs. He kicked them the rest of the way off when Blaine got to his knees, leaving him just in his gray boxer briefs, and then slid down the other boy's legs slightly so he could toy with the button on Blaine's jeans. He smiled and glanced up at him through long lashes before softly, "Is this okay?"

Blaine's heart fluttered at the innocent tone in his voice and for a moment, he forgot how to speak because Kurt was looking at him_ that_ way and he couldn't believe that he was _here_ with_ him_. When Kurt just cocked his head and patiently waited for a response, his hands on Blaine's hips, the shorter boy finally snapped himself out of it, "I- Yeah… Yeah." At that, Kurt let out a breathy chuckle, which also made Blaine's heart stop before leaning down and placing a soft kiss on his stomach.

It definitely wasn't his first time, but Blaine's heart was racing like it was. Everything Kurt did made his heart race, actually. He suddenly felt very very self conscious. What if Kurt didn't like what he saw? He didn't have much time to worry about that, though because after glancing up at him again to make sure it was okay, Kurt was unbuttoning Blaine's jeans, unzipping them, and sliding them slowly down his legs. Kurt's mouth followed the fabric down Blaine's legs, leaving a trail of kisses as he went, until he was on his knees in front of him. He pulled the jeans the rest of the way off, then wasted no time in hooking his fingers in the elastic of Blaine's boxer briefs.

When Kurt looked up at him for reassurance, Blaine's eyes were closed and his breathing was heavy. "Can I?" Kurt asked, breath hitting his exposed legs.

Blaine's eyes flew open because _this is it_. Kurt was about to see him naked. He drew in a shaky breath before nodded, "Yeah."

"You okay?" Kurt asked softly, concerned.

Blaine nodded again, "Yeah, just nervous."

Kurt smiled up at him before sliding up his body and kissing him passionately. When he pulled away, he spoke again, "You don't have anything to be nervous about. I've got you."

Blaine smiled back at him and tried to relax, "Okay."

Kurt took that as a good sign and let his fingers hook under the elastic again before pulling down and tossing the garment across the room. He let himself drink the sight of Blaine, naked in front of him, in before leaning in and littering his inner thighs with soft kisses. Though he wouldn't admit it to Blaine, who was visibly nervous, he was feeling exactly the same way. A month ago, Kurt never would have guessed he'd be where he was.

Kurt continued to kiss around Blaine's hips and thighs until he was at his cock, which he placed a tentative kiss on. When Blaine's entire body shivered and he could see goosebumps on the boy's skin, Kurt took it as a good sign and licked the length before taking it into his mouth. Up until that moment, Blaine had been sitting up on his elbows, watching Kurt but at that, he let the upper half of his body fall to the bed. Everything was hot and wet and Blaine couldn't help it when his fingers threaded instinctively through Kurt's hair and he let out a soft breathy moan.

Maybe it was the nerves or maybe it was because it was _Kurt_, but it didn't take long before Blaine was pulling gently on Kurt's hair and gasping out, "Kurt stop, I'm going to-"

Kurt pulled off of him with almost an obscene pop, which he blushed at, and looked up at Blaine. "We don't have to stop," Kurt insisted, his voice rough.

Blaine shook his head, blushing, "N-no. I don't want to stop… I want… I want you to…"

Blaine's voice trailed off, but Kurt knew what he was trying to say. His heart practically leapt out of his chest at the thought and it took all he had to keep his voice steady when he replied. Kurt knew that one of them needed to be level headed and collected or it was going to be just as shaky and nervous as losing his virginity was, and he didn't want it to be like that – not with Blaine. With Blaine, he wanted it to be perfect. He cleared his throat, "You're sure?"

Blaine watched him for a second and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself, before nodding, "I'm sure."

"Do you have a- uhm…" Kurt feels weird asking it because for the last almost two years he hasn't had to ask. They've always just been in Hayden's bedside table and-

Kurt has to shake the thought from his head. _This isn't Hayden. It's Blaine._

"Bedside table, in the drawer," Blaine managed to choke out, and couldn't help but gawk when Kurt leaned over to open the drawer.

When he emerged with the condom and lube, Blaine instinctively scooted up the bed so there was more room for Kurt, who sat between his legs and finally pulled his own boxers off. Without thinking about it, Blaine leaned forward and grabbed the condom. He tore it open with his teeth and proceeded to roll it carefully over Kurt's dick, seemingly oblivious to the boy gaping above him. When he was done, he leaned back on his elbows again, waiting. Though he was trying to act calm and cool, he was mentally freaking out on the inside.

Kurt took a deep breath before biting his lip and pouring some of the liquid into his hand and coating himself with it. When he was done, he leaned forward and placed a kiss on Blaine's lips, "If I hurt you at all, just tell me."

Blaine smiled back nervously in return, "Okay."

Kurt couldn't help the tremor that ran through his body when his finger circled Blaine's entrance a couple of times, and he had to take a couple of deep breaths before pushing it slightly inside. It wasn't until that moment that Kurt realized that it was actually happening. He and Blaine were about to have sex. His other hand, which was holding one of Blaine's started to shake at the thought, and Blaine squeezed him lightly, reassuringly.

Kurt started to pump the first finger, just slightly, earning a whimper from the other boy. He paused for a moment, making sure Blaine was okay, before continuing and adding another. "K-Kurt," Blaine whined quietly, still getting used to the fact that he was actually moaning Kurt's name. In turn, Kurt leaned down and kissed at Blaine's stomach, lips, and cock as he picked up the pace with his fingers, looking for the spot-

"Fuck, Kurt!" Blaine was still attempting to keep his voice down, but he couldn't help but almost shout when brushed over his prostate, sending shocks of pleasure down his spine. He wasn't sure when his legs started shaking, but Blaine was fully aware of the fact that they were after that. He started rocking back against Kurt, who was still trying to be as gentle as possible with his hand.

"Another?" Kurt asked, still attempting to be calm, but his voice came out rough and needy.

Blaine nodded quickly in response and managed to choke out a "please" in response, before Kurt added a third finger. When the three slid in and out easily, Kurt decided it was time, and drew them out, earning a hiss from Blaine, who lifted his head to look at him.

"You're sure?" Kurt asked for what seemed like the millionth time that night, to which Blaine nodded frantically in response.

"Yes. Please… Kurt- I need-" He rambled, his brain short circuiting, but Kurt understood.

He leaned forward, placing a kiss on Blaine's lips, "Shh… I've got you." Blaine nodded again in response, and at that, Kurt pressed against his entrance. With another kiss, he let himself just barely press the tip inside and then his face was pressed against the mattress because it was already so hot and tight and he wasn't sure how long he was going to last because after all, it was _Blaine._

Blaine's legs managed to wrap instinctively around his waist, drawing him in more, and Kurt took it as a sign to push all the way inside. He wasn't sure when he started sweating, but his body was covered in a thin layer of it when he was finally buried deep inside and he took in a few quick breaths, trying to calm himself. He had no idea how he was going to handle it.

"K-kurt, _move,"_ Blaine groaned, his voice low and gravely after sitting there like that for a moment, and the two words sent a shiver down Kurt's spine.

He let himself pull out slowly only to push right back in, and the pressure was just _so _much. Kurt's head fell forward again, his forehead pressing against Blaine's. "Fuck, Blaine…" His was was completely _wrecked_ by that point and he couldn't bring himself to even care.

With Blaine pushing back on him, Kurt managed to set up a rhythm. Kurt hadn't even realized that his eyes had been shut, but when he finally did, he opened them immediately. He needed to see Blaine. And in a fraction of a second, he was glad he had. Blaine's head was thrown back, his throat exposed. One hand was gripping the sheets and the other was tight around Kurt waist, pulling him in close. Kurt's rhythm stuttered at the sight and he took a moment to compose himself before letting out a wrecked, "Shit, Blaine… You're so perfect…"

All Blaine could do was moan in response, but Kurt took it as a good sign and allowed himself to attack Blaine's exposed throat, sucking and kissing knowing that he was going to leave hickies in the morning. Blaine's mouth opened in a silent scream when Kurt began to brush against his prostate again and again and it only took a couple of jerks from Kurt's hand – which was suddenly there – until he was coming hot across the two of them.

Just the sight of Blaine almost pushed Kurt over the edge and it only took one, two, three more thrusts before he was coming too. He rode out the last of his orgasm until he was laying limp and spent on the other boy. They laid there like that for a few minutes before Kurt had the strength to lift himself up and pull out of Blaine, who hissed in response. He tossed the condom into the trash can before turning to look at the boy underneath him.

Blaine's normally perfect hair was sweaty and sticking to his forehead, which was covered in sweat. He was breathing heavily, coming down, but still smiled up at Kurt who was gawking down at him in disbelief at his he could still look so beautiful. "Hi," Blaine managed to choke out, smiling up at Kurt still.

Kurt grinned back, "Hi." They sat there like that for a moment, staring at eachother stupidly until Kurt broke the silence, "We should probably clean up."

Blaine glanced out the bedroom door (which they had forgotten to close) and toward the bathroom before sighing and whining, "I don't wanna shower…"

Kurt chuckled, "Do you have tissues then?"

"Dresser," Blaine said, nodding across the room and Kurt got up to fetch them and close the door, then proceeded to clean him off, giggling. "What?" Blaine asked, suddenly worried he had done something wrong or embarrassing.

Kurt shook his head, "Nothing. You just look adorable."

"Oh," Blaine said softly, gazing up at Kurt before pulling him down for a quick kiss.

After cleaning up, the two of them laid on Blaine's bed side by side, which also made Blaine's heart race because they were _cuddling_. He safely assumed that Trent wasn't coming back till morning and deemed it safe for Kurt to stay the night, but found himself wondering if it would be too much to ask him to stay. After toying with the idea for a few minutes, he spoke up, "Kurt?"

"Hmm?" Kurt turned to look at him, grin still plastered on his face.

"Do you want to stay the night?"

Kurt cuddled into his neck in response before nodding, "I would love that."


	19. 19 Poison and Wine

_**Poison And Wine**_

* * *

><p>The first time Kurt woke up the next morning, Blaine had his arm draped around his waist and was breathing against his neck, still sleeping. Both of them were still completely naked and Kurt didn't really mind as he inched closer to Blaine and fell back asleep for a couple of hours.<p>

The second time Kurt woke up that morning, he turned over to find that Blaine was no longer sleeping next to him and had a mini panic attack, wondering where he had gone. He sat up quickly and looked around the room before his eyes came to rest on a note sitting on the bedside table. He picked it up and read over it quickly.

"_Kurt,  
>I went out to get some coffee and breakfast. You can use the shower if you want. Be back soon.<br>x – B."_

Kurt smiled at the paper before setting it back down on the bedside table and laying back down, looking at the ceiling. So the night before hadn't been a dream. It had actually happened. Kurt smiled at the thought as he laid there, knowing that things were finally working out.

As he laid there, he started to get more and more nervous, though. The two of them hadn't necessarily talked _everything_ out before they got intimate, and that somewhat scared him. What if they talked when Blaine got back and decided that they moved too fast? Kurt had been terrified of doing exactly that or doing something to hurt Blaine the night before.

Deciding that if he laid there any longer he would probably go insane, Kurt stood and pulled his boxers on then made his way down the hall. Blaine had said it was okay to use the shower and he _was_ feeling dirty, and Kurt decided it would probably be the best thing to help him clear his mind.

* * *

><p>Blaine couldn't have been in a better mood when he woke up in the morning. It was about seven when he woke up and when he couldn't fall back asleep, he decided to shower then get some food for the two of them. <em>The two of them<em>. Blaine's heart leapt at the thought. The previous night was real. It had actually happened, and Kurt was still sleeping peacefully – and looking rather adorable – in his bed.

Blaine got up quietly, so as not to disturb the sleeping boy, pulled on some boxers and ventured out into the living room. Thankfully, Trent still wasn't home – and Blaine was assuming that meant his date went well – so he took his time showering and getting ready. By eight, he was dressed and ready, save for his damp hair, to head out. He scribbled out a quick note for Kurt (signed with a cute little "x" which made Blaine smile to himself) and then headed out the door.

His walk to his work went by pretty quickly, partially because Blaine was incredibly excited to get back home to the boy in his bed.

_The boy in his bed_.

The thought alone almost managed to make his heart skip a beat and he knew he was probably grinning like an idiot while he walked down the street, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He had earned it. As much as Blaine's friends and family would give him shit about being a "pushover" he decided it was worth it if he got Kurt in the end.

When he walked in the door of his work, Melissa's smiling face greeted him. "You look happy," She commented as he approached the counter.

He shrugged and could feel himself blushing, "Maybe I am."

She raised an eyebrow at his response and when he didn't say anything else she just rolled her eyes, "So let me guess, your usual?"

Blaine grinned to himself before replying, "Yeah. And I'm going to need a grande nonfat mocha and another bear claw." He wasn't sure if Kurt liked pastries, but he figured he would grab one for him.

"Wait, isn't that Kurt's…" Melissa trailed off, trying to piece things together in her head before her eyes widened almost comically. "No! No way!"

Blaine just grinned in response, "Yeah…"

"No way!" She exclaimed again, "Oh my god and he stayed the night?"

Blaine laughed, "Yeah, he's sleeping right now."

"Oh my god!" She was practically jumping up and down behind the counter and then immediately went to work making the drinks, "You need to get back! You have to be there when he wakes up!"

"Alright, alright," Blaine chuckled, rolling his eyes. He handed her his money then waited for her to finish making the drinks, which were done almost immediately.

"Get out of here," Melissa almost yelled, handing him his coffee and pastries, "And text me later!"

At that, Blaine started the walk back to his house, the reality of things sinking in. He and Kurt had sex. Kurt was probably still asleep in his bed. He was buying Kurt coffee.

_I could get used to this_.

Though he knew that the two of them would need to have a serious talk about their relationship, or whatever it was, he didn't want to worry about it on the way home. Things were finally falling into place and he didn't want to ruin it by over thinking things.

When he opened his apartment door at about nine, Trent was sitting in the kitchen reading the newspaper. His heart immediately sped up and he hoped that Kurt was still asleep because he wanted to be the one to tell Trent instead of him finding out awkwardly. When he saw that his bedroom door was shut and Trent didn't say anything snarky, he safely assumed that he didn't know. Yet.

As he stepped into the kitchen, Trent glanced up from his paper, "Good morning."

"Morning," Blaine offered in response, his heart racing. He was excited to see Kurt and he was excited to tell Trent about things.

"Drinking two coffees today? Or is one of those mine?" Trent asked, still looking up at him with an amused look playing across his face.

"Actually…" Blaine started, setting his things down, "One of them is for Kurt."

Trent raised an eyebrow, "Then why aren't you at Kurt's house giving it to him? And I thought you two weren't talking…"

"Well, we're talking now. And uh… I'm not at his house because he's here. He's uh… He's sleeping in my room."

Trent looked at him as if he were crazy for a moment before speaking, "Uh… Are you sure about that?"

Blaine laughed nervously, "I'm pretty sure. He was still sleeping when I left."

A worried look suddenly crossed Trent's face and if Blaine hadn't been in such a cheerful mood, he probably would have noticed it, but he seemed to ignore it. "Blaine…" Trent started, unsure of what to say, "I just got here not even five minutes ago and I went in your room to see if you were sleeping or at work and nobody was in there."

Refusing to believe that Kurt just left, Blaine rolled his eyes, "Well he's probably showering. Did you check the bathroom?"

Trent nodded carefully, "Was just in there…"

In about one second, Blaine's mood went from amazing to terrible. Without thinking, he dropped the pastries on the floor and ran straight to the bedroom. The door slammed open and Blaine's heart sank when he was met with an empty bed and an empty room. He then dashed to the bathroom, ignoring Trent who was trying to stop him, and was even more devastated when Kurt wasn't in there either.

"Blaine stop," Trent's voice was pleading as Blaine ran from the bathroom back to his room again, but he was ignored.

Blaine immediately started going through his room. Kurt boots and all of his clothes from the night before were gone. There was no sign of the other boy, and had he not seen him earlier in the morning, he would have thought that the night before was just a dream. But he had definitely been there. The note that Blaine had written that morning was proof, and it was still sitting on the bedside table. Blaine's heart leapt when he saw more writing on the paper, though, and he grabbed it quickly to read it. It was mostly crossed out, but he could still read it.

"_Blaine, I think we should_

_I don't_

_We need to_

_I'm sorry"_

So Kurt had left. He had actually left.

Blaine wasn't even sure what he was feeling. He wasn't even aware that he had sunk to the floor next to his bed until he felt Trent's hands on his shoulders. His face was wet with tears which he wasn't even aware that he had shed and tremors were running though his body. He buried his head in his hands before choking out a sob.

Trent was then on the floor next to him, holding him as he cried into his hands. He couldn't figure out why Kurt would have just left without calling or even leaving a proper note. Things had been so wonderful and beautiful and _perfect_ the night before and he had no idea why he would just leave. Things finally seemed to be working out. He wasn't sure how long he was like that, but he finally managed to calm his breathing enough to speak. "I don't get it," He managed to choke out, "Why?"

Trent shook his head, "Because he's a fucking idiot?"

"But I don't… Oh _god,"_ Blaine choked out, "We had _sex_. And he just left."

"I'm so sorry," Trent offered, knowing it probably wouldn't help.

"I'm so _stupid_," Blaine sobbed, "I let him sweet talk me into sex and then he just left. God, I should have seen this coming."

"_Please_ don't blame yourself, Blaine," Trent said, rather harsh.

"Well what else am I supposed to do?" Blaine almost snapped, pulling away from his roommates hug.

"Maybe be pissed at _him_ for once," Trent half yelled back, "I'm sick of seeing you beat yourself up over shit with him. He keeps fucking you over again and again and it's about time you get mad at _him_ for it."

"But I-" Blaine attempted to argue but was cut off. Trent was right. Cooper was right. Everyone was right. He knew he needed to stop being mad at himself and stop forgiving Kurt so easily.

"No," Trent shook his head, "But nothing. I know you're really upset, but you need to be upset with him, not yourself."

Blaine sighed in defeat. He knew it was true. As much as he wanted to see the good in everyone, it was bringing him down. He had given Kurt multiple chances, and he managed to mess almost every single one up.

"I just thought he was the one… you know?" Blaine finally said, sniffling, "Things just felt so right with him…"

"I know…" Trent sighed, "And I know it's hard for you. But if he comes crawling back, you need to make him work for it."

* * *

><p>"I think I fucked up, Rachel," Kurt said into the phone around nine thirty that morning, "Big time."<p>

"Well I'll be back in a few, I'm just getting coffee," Rachel replied, "Do you want anything?"

"No."

"Are you going to be okay until I get back?" Her voice was concerned.

"I don't know," Kurt answered honestly.

"I'll hurry," Rachel said worriedly then hung up, leaving Kurt alone with his thoughts.

Up until he got to his apartment, Kurt's mind was numb. He hadn't even realized he had walked that far until he was pulling out his keys and unlocking his door. And it wasn't until he got in the door that he realized that he was making a mistake. His keys immediately dropped to the floor as he muttered out, "What am I doing?"

When Rachel got back to their apartment Kurt was sitting on the couch, his knees curled up to his chest and his head in his hands. Rachel didn't have to look twice to know that Kurt was crying and she immediately dropped her things and rushed to the couch, "Honey, what happened?" Kurt hadn't bothered to explain on the phone, but she assumed it had something to do with Blaine.

"I'm so fucking stupid," Kurt choked out, sobbing into his arms.

Rachel sat for a moment rubbing his back and letting him cry until her curiosity was killing her, "Kurt, hun, I can't help until you tell me what's wrong."

"I'm an idiot, that's what's wrong," Kurt managed, lifting his head to look at Rachel. His eyes were red from crying and he wiped them before speaking again, "Everything was perfect and I fucked it up. I stayed at Blaine's last night and things were great and then I woke up this morning and I freaked out and left. I don't even know why I did it. One minute I was showering and the next I was walking in our door."

"Oh honey…" Rachel said softly, hugging him. When they pulled apart she cleared her throat, "Did you two… you know…"

Kurt nodded, "Yeah… Which makes it even worse… I think I was scared that we rushed things and everything just suddenly seemed to real this morning and I got scared but-"

"But you shouldn't have left," Rachel finished for him.

He nodded, "God, I'm so stupid. And things felt so right last night. And now I've fucked it up…"

"Did you try calling?" Rachel asked.

"Right when I got home," Kurt replied immediately, "It went straight to voicemail."

"And you want to be with him?"

"God you have no idea, Rachel," Kurt said, wiping more tears off of his face, "I feel like an idiot. I finally did something right… Things were going great, so naturally I had to fuck it up. And now he won't answer and I've probably ruined my chance…"

"Maybe not," Rachel replied, trying not to be too negative, "But if you _really_ want him like you say you do, you know you're going to have to fight pretty hard for him, right?"

"I'll do anything," Kurt choked out, "I need him. I think I love him, Rachel…"

* * *

><p><strong>I know, I know, I hate chapters like this too, but just trust me with this, okay? I promise you won't hate me in the end!<br>Also, we only have two chapters left after this! Can you Believe that?  
>I know I'll probably say something along these lines at the end, too, but thank you to all of the wonderful readers! It means a lot that you guys like this!<strong>


	20. 20 I Was Scared and I'm Sorry

_**I Was Scared And I'm Sorry**_

* * *

><p>Kurt was practically shaking as he walked toward his favorite coffee shop early on Friday morning.<p>

He knew Blaine probably wouldn't forgive him as easily as he had before, but he knew what he needed to do. Kurt was prepared to beg on his knees for another chance if that was what it took. He didn't really have a speech planned out because the thought of talking to Blaine absolutely terrified him, but he trusted himself enough to spill his heart out if need be.

When he rounded the corner to the coffee shop, his head was spinning and he had to stop for a moment and take a few deep breaths to keep himself from passing out. Finally, he was opening the door and stepping inside like he had a million times before, only this time was the most important one of his life.

Kurt immediately locked eyes with Blaine when he walked in. Though he wasn't surprised by his actions, it didn't stop his heart from sinking when Blaine immediately threw his apron off and mumbled something about taking his break to Melissa, who was standing next to him.

Kurt's step faltered and he had to take another couple of deep breaths before approaching Melissa. He cleared his throat, "Hey."

"What can I get you, Kurt?" Melissa asked, her tone harsh. Blaine had obviously told her what had happened, and she looked like she really didn't want to be talking to him either.

"I uh…" Kurt looked down, nervous, "I actually came here to talk to Blaine."

"Well he just went on his break," She spat, trying to get rid of him.

Kurt was persistent though, "Please, Melissa… I really need to talk to him."

"If you haven't noticed, he obviously doesn't want to talk to you," She countered.

"I know, but I-"

"Why can't you get it through your thick fucking head?" She hissed, trying to keep quiet so the few customers who were sipping their coffee didn't hear, "You screwed it up. He doesn't want to see you."

Kurt glanced over her shoulder where he could see Blaine, standing in the back room and watching the altercation, a pained look on his face. "I _need_ to see him, Melissa…" Kurt pleaded one last time.

"And I need you to get out of my store," She said, her voice raising, "Now." Her hand gripped the phone as if she were about to call the cops, which Kurt found a little over the top, but he obeyed and reluctantly turned away.

Kurt wanted to die if that was how things were going to end. If he didn't get the chance to try to explain himself to Blaine, he didn't know what to do. He felt like he had lost everything – felt like he had screwed it all up – for nothing.

He was out the door and almost halfway down the block when someone called his name. When he turned around, he was surprised to see Blaine standing on the sidewalk outside of the coffee shop. Kurt contemplated walking back to him, but Blaine seemed to beat him to it. It only took a few long strides before they were face to face, and Kurt quickly realized that he hadn't come outside to profess his love for him or kiss him like in some cheesy romantic comedy. He looked furious.

"You know what the worst part about all of this is?" Blaine asked, struggling to keep himself from yelling. He didn't wait for Kurt to try to explain himself. He didn't want to hear yet another excuse.

Kurt opened his mouth to speak, but Blaine cut him off.

"It's not that you didn't have the decency to even call me when you chose Hayden over me," Blaine started, "And it's not that you left my house after we had _sex_ without so much as an explanation. No, Kurt. The worst part about all of this is that I actually let myself believe for one second that you were different than everyone else. That you understood me. That you weren't going to take advantage of me."

When Kurt stood there, speechless, Blaine spoke again, "That's the worst part, Kurt."

A few people stared at the two of them as they passed by and even some of the customers in the coffee shop were watching as Blaine yelled at Kurt. He gulped, "Blaine, please… if you let me explain-"

"You shouldn't have to, Kurt," Blaine interrupted, "Look… I'm finally taking everyone's advice. I'm taking _your _advice. I'm not letting people push me around anymore."

Though Kurt was proud of him, his heart sunk at the words.

When he was just silent, Blaine cleared his throat, "I'll see you around, Kurt."

* * *

><p>"Cooper?" Blaine said shakily into the phone when his brother picked up. Melissa had let him go home early, and the second he walked in the door of his apartment, he broke down.<p>

"What's wrong?" Cooper's voice was worried. It only took one word for him to realize that his little brother was upset.

"I don't know what I'm doing, Coop," Blaine choked out, trying to keep the tears back.

"What happened?"

"He came crawling back, just like you said he would, but he didn't stay for long…" Blaine took a few deep breaths to calm himself, "He stayed the night and then he left the next morning."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Cooper growled out, immediately furious that anyone would have the balls to hurt his brother like that.

"And he uh… he came to apologize to me at work today. But I didn't let him. I took your advice, Coop, I didn't let him push me around. But it didn't feel right._ God_ you should have seen the look on his face. I feel like shit and I don't know what I'm doing anymore…" Blaine finally broke down and started crying as he tried to explain things to his brother.

"Hey… Calm down," Cooper soothed into the phone, "You did the right thing."

"Then why don't I feel good about it?" Blaine whined.

"I-" He stopped, unsure of what to say, "I know it doesn't feel good, B, but trust me, you did the right thing. You can't let him push you around. I know you want to be with him but you _can't_ set aside your own happiness to do so. Okay?"

Blaine sniffled, "Okay…"

"I'm not going to lie to you, it's going to be hard," Cooper continued, "But you'll get through it, okay? You've got me, and you've got a good friend in Trent. And that girl you work with. You'll get through it."

He nodded, even though Cooper couldn't see him, "Okay…"

"I know you're doubting it," Cooper said, "But trust me, it'll get easier, okay?"

* * *

><p>To an extent, it did get a little easier.<p>

It took a while, like Cooper had said, but it did get easier. By the time the school year was over, a lot of things had changed. Blaine had quit his job at the coffee shop. Mostly because it reminded him too much of Kurt, but also because he knew it was time to move on. He started working at a local venue instead, which he ended up liking a lot. Not only was he able to get into concerts for free, it made it easy for him to book shows and get his name out there.

Trent rarely brought up Rachel, and Blaine never asked about her. He knew the two of them were friends because they'd hang out every once in a while, but she never came over and he never asked about her. At first it was hard, but he liked it that way. He figured it was for the best if he wasn't constantly reminded of Kurt.

Trent wanted to go home and see his family for the summer and Blaine decided that maybe it would be good for him to get out of town and go back home for a few months, too. Thankfully, his work understood and told him that his spot would be open when he came back in the fall.

He wouldn't admit it to himself much, but sometimes he really did miss Kurt. They had a lot in common, and sometimes when Blaine wanted to have a discussion about music or movies or little fashion tidbits that he learned about, he wished that Kurt was still around. Though he knew he could talk to Trent, it wasn't the same. He missed the spark between them.

Though Blaine had met a couple of guys after he and Kurt stopped talking, he didn't pursue anything. He didn't want to rely on anyone else to be happy and he knew he needed to work on himself. That, and they were no Kurt. He would shove _that_ thought down as soon as it crossed his mind, but it didn't stop him from thinking it every once in a while.

Being back in Ohio was good, though. It was the kind of change he needed.

Blaine's phone rang late one afternoon in July and he crossed his room and picked it up to find Trent's name on his screen. "Hey, Trent," He answered after a few rings, sitting back on his bed.

"What are you doing?" Was Trent's greeting, and from what Blaine could tell, he was in a car with someone else.

"Uh… Just sitting at my house. Why?"

"Can you be ready in fifteen minutes?" He asked, rushed.

"Sure…" Blaine said, suspicious, "Why?"

"Because Wes and I are on our way there and we wanted you to come get coffee with us."

Though Blaine thought it was an odd spontaneous thing to do, he missed seeing Wes and was ready within five minutes. Trent and Wes showed up shortly after to pick him up and then they started heading out of Westerville. "Wait where exactly _are_ we going?" Blaine asked, wondering why they were leaving town. There were plenty of coffee shops decently close to his house.

"There's this one in Lima I've been going to recently," Wes explained, "It puts anywhere else to shame."

Though Blaine wanted to argue because it was far away and he knew _Kurt_ lived in Lima, he kept his mouth shut. Even if Kurt was home for the summer, what were the chances that they would run into eachother?

It didn't take long before the three of them were pulling up to The Lima Bean and walking inside. They ordered their drinks then sat together next to the window, talking and watching people walk by. Wes hadn't been lying – the coffee was really good – and as they sat there, his nervousness about being in Lima started to disappear. He knew he had just been paranoid.

They had been there for about fifteen minutes when Trent glanced out the window and immediately started fidgeting like he was nervous. Blaine glanced out the window, but apparently whatever he saw had disappeared because he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. "You okay?" Blaine asked, glancing back at him.

"Yeah," He answered quickly, "I uh… I think I forgot to lock my car. I'm going to go do that."

"Trent, we're in _Lima_," Blaine teased, "I don't think-"

And then he immediately stopped talking because suddenly he saw what Trent had seen and they were walking in the door. He glanced nervously back at him as he stood up. "We'll be right back, Blaine," Trent said, half smiling and before Blaine could protest, Trent and Wes were standing and walking out the door.

Blaine wanted to kick himself. Of course Trent had alternative motives. And he had even gotten Wes to play along.

He glanced nervously back toward the front of the store where Kurt just so happened to be standing, staring right back at him and frozen in _place._ It seemed like he was weighing out his options – trying to decide whether or not to come say hi – until finally, he took a few nervous steps in Blaine's direction.

Blaine sat at his table, taking a couple of nervous deep breaths as Kurt walked up to him, prepared for that wall that he had put up to come crashing down. He had tried so hard over the past few months not to think about anything relating to Kurt, but he knew that was all about to change.

"Hey…" Kurt said nervously when he was finally next to Blaine's table.

Blaine cleared his throat, "Hi."

"I swear, I'm not stalking you," Kurt said quickly, "Rachel told me to meet her here…"

"Of course," Blaine said rolling his eyes, "And Trent dragged me here. Well, that makes sense now…"

Kurt stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do or say until Blaine finally sighed and motioned for him to sit in the chair across from him, "Have a seat, Kurt."

"Are you sure?" Kurt's eyes were wide, surprised. With the way their last conversation went, he was shocked that Blaine was even acknowledging him. "I mean, I don't have to stay. This was obviously some plot that Rach-"

"_Sit,_ Kurt," Blaine insisted, nodding toward the chair again.

Kurt obeyed and sat down, his hands folded neatly on the table. He stared down at them instead of Blaine because he was terrified to see his face again. Things hadn't ended well, and he didn't want to screw it up again.

"How have you been?" Blaine asked, forced. He could feel Trent's eyes on him from outside the coffee shop and it took everything he had not to shoot his friend a pissed off look. He stopped himself because maybe Trent was just trying to do what was best for him. He gave him the benefit of the doubt as he talked to Kurt.

Kurt glanced up, "Good. I uh… I've been good."

It was silent between the two of them again, both boys unsure of what to say.

"I tried going by your work a while ago…" Kurt started, then immediately trailed off because he thought it sounded creepy.

"Yeah, I quit there," Blaine mumbled, "I uh… I actually work at a venue now."

"Oh," Kurt said, eyebrows raised, "That's cool."

Blaine hummed and nodded in response but didn't say anything else.

"Blaine?" Kurt finally asked, nervous.

He glanced up, "Yes?"

Kurt took a deep breath, "Look, our friends obviously wanted us to see eachother… Or something… I mean, I don't know if you want me here or not and I can leave, but as long as we're talking I just really want to apologize for how things ended between us."

Blaine didn't know what to say. In fact, he had expected Kurt to avoid the subject all together, so he was at a loss for words. He hadn't really expected to ever run into Kurt again, so he didn't have any speech planned out for the next time he saw him. He was caught completely off guard, which was probably what Trent wanted.

"I- I fucked up," Kurt started, taking Blaine's silence as a cue to continue, "I shouldn't have played with your emotions. I shouldn't have walked out that morning. And I shouldn't have taken advantage of you. I'm so _so_ sorry about all of that, Blaine. And if there was any way I could take it back, I swear I would."

Kurt cleared his throat, "I uh… I walked out that morning because I was absolutely terrified. Things were going so great between us and it scared me. You were- you _are_ just such an amazing person, and I knew I hadn't treated you right and I thought it was too good to be true so I left. And I know now how stupid of me that was. I swear, I'd give anything for another chance. I know I'll never get one and that's okay but I-"

"Kurt," Blaine cut him off, and he realized that he had been rambling and immediately felt stupid. He shut his mouth, which had been hanging open, and stared at Blaine, waiting for him to continue.

Though Blaine had told himself a million times that if he ever saw Kurt again, he wouldn't listen to him, he was suddenly glad he did. Anyone else – besides Rachel and Trent, of course – would tell him not to give Kurt the time of day, but he suddenly understood why their friends had set the meeting up.

They knew that Kurt and Blaine needed eachother. And not in a bad, overly dependent way. But they knew that Kurt and Blaine were perfect for eachother. They always had been, and Blaine finally got it.

"It's okay," He finally managed to get out, to Kurt's surprise. He had half expected Blaine to yell at him, to get up and leave or basically anything else than say that it was okay.

"It- it is?" Kurt asked.

Blaine nodded, "Our friends are obviously trying to tell us something…" He glanced out the window where Trent and Wes were standing by the car, now joined by Rachel. "I'm sorry that we didn't talk about this sooner. We _should_ have had this talk months ago, but I was being stubborn."

"You had every right to be," Kurt interjected, "Besides, it gave me time to think about things."

"And?"

"And…" Kurt started, his heart racing, "I still want to be with you. That hasn't changed."

Blaine couldn't help but smile, "As much as I've tried to tell myself that I don't, I think I want that too."

They sat, smiling at eachother for a moment before Kurt broke the silence, "So… What now?"

Blaine shrugged, "We start over? I mean… we didn't get the best beginning… I think we deserve it."

Kurt grinned at the idea, turned around for a moment to glance out the window at their friends, then turned back to Blaine. "Hi," He said, smiling, "I know this may be a little forward, but I saw you sitting over here, and I just needed to come introduce myself because you are absolutely gorgeous."

Blaine smiled back at Kurt before playing along and reaching his hand out, "Blaine Anderson."

Kurt shook his hand, "Kurt Hummel."

* * *

><p><em>No, this isn't the ending. Not yet. There's ONE more chapter after this. And I promise, I'm not going to torture you anymore. It's all just fluff. Haha.<em>


	21. 21 First Day of my Life

_**First Day of My Life**_

* * *

><p><em>And you said "this is the first day of my life<br>I'm glad I didn't die before I met you  
>But now I don't care I could go anywhere with you<br>And I'd probably be happy"_

_-"First Day of My Life" - Bright Eyes_

* * *

><p>Blaine was absolutely terrified the first time he met Burt. It was toward the end of the summer when Kurt finally decided it was time to introduce his <em>boyfriend<em> to his parents. They started officially dating about a week after the encounter at the coffee shop, and though things were a little rocky and unsure at first, they were going well by the end of the summer.

"Are you sure he'll like me?" Blaine asked as he and Kurt walked, and in hand up the steps to Kurt's house. He felt like a teenage boy all over again, meeting his boyfriends parents for the first time, and from what Kurt had said about his father, he sounded a little intimidating.

"Trust me, he'll _love_ you," Kurt just replied, squeezing his hand reassuringly before opening the front door. "Dad! Carol!" He called, stepping inside, "Come here! There's someone I want you to meet."

The first person to round the corner into the living room from the kitchen was Finn, who Blaine had met a few weeks before. He smiled when he saw the two, "Hey, Kurt. Hey Blaine."

Blaine just smiled nervously at him before turning his attention back to the kitchen's entryway. The next person to enter was a cheerful looking woman with short, dark hair. She was drying her hands with a towel and reached one out to shake Blaine's hand once she got close enough. "I'm Carol," She said, smiling sweetly, "You must be Blaine. We've heard great things about you."

Blaine glanced up at Kurt, who just grinned at him, before smiling back at Carol, "It's great to meet you."

And then there was Burt. He walked into the room, arms crossed and looking like the tough dad that Blaine had imagined. Blaine gulped as he approached, but was taken completely off guard when Burt stepped forward and held out his hand, smiling. "Burt," He said, "It's great to meet you, kiddo."

"You too," Blaine replied, trying not to let his nerves show.

"Now after Kurt's last boyfriend, I'm not going to take kindly to liars and cheaters, you understand?" He said suddenly, his voice stern, causing Blaine to tense at the mention of Hayden. "But," Burt said, voice softening again, "We _have_ head great things about you, and if Kurt's happy, we're happy."

Blaine smiled nervously at him, "I don't let you down."

* * *

><p>It's almost two years later, when Blaine is even more nervous that he had been meeting Kurt's father for the first time.<p>

"Alright, why are we at the lima bean _without_ Kurt?" Rachel asked, looking at Blaine suspiciously as they sat down in the familiar coffee shop one summer afternoon. The three of them had each taken a week off work to fly back to Ohio to visit family for the weekend, and Blaine took the opportunity to do some _shopping_, per say.

"I actually wanted to ask you about something," Blaine said nervously, playing with a box in his hands under the table.

"I thought you'd never ask, Blaine Anderson," Rachel said jokingly and flipping her hair, "Of course I'll marry you."

Blaine gulped. "Well, actually…" And then he pulled the box out from under the table, opened it, and set it in front of Rachel.

"Oh my _god_, Blaine," She said breathlessly, picking up the box and examining the ring inside. It's just a simple gold band with raised edges – simple yet elegant, just like Kurt. "_Blaine_, it's beautiful. I mean not for me of course," She joked, "But _Kurt,_ oh my god he's going to love it."

"You think?" Blaine asked, smiling nervously.

Rachel reached forward, taking one of Blaine's hands, "He will _love_ it, Blaine. I promise. Almost as much as he loves you."

Rachel's words make Blaine's heart soar, but then he frowns, "Now I just have to ask Burt."

To Blaine's surprise, the talk with Burt went really, _really_ well. It started with shaky hands and Blaine struggling to come up with the right words to explain how much he loves Kurt, until Burt stopped him and said, "Just get it out, Bud. What's going on?"

Finally, Blaine had managed to form the words, "I want to marry your son." With that, he was immediately enveloped in an unexpected hug. He returned the embrace, smiling because it was a good sign, and when Burt pulled away, he wiped a couple of tears off of his own face.

When he finally regained composure, he smiled and said, "Now you've got a ring right?"

Blaine nodded, pulled it out and received about the same reaction he had gotten from Rachel. "It's perfect, Blaine," Burt said, looking down at it and smiling.

* * *

><p>It wasn't until they were back in New York a week later that Blaine mustered up to courage to ask Kurt.<p>

He hadn't really planned out the way that it happened, but when it did, he couldn't help but think that things had come full circle. Kurt showed up at Blaine's apartment early on a Sunday morning to go get breakfast and go shopping with him, like they did every Sunday. Blaine grabbed his messenger bag like he always did, very aware that the little box was in there somewhere, and he decided that he would ask Kurt over dinner later that night.

What he didn't expect, though, was for Kurt to choose a _certain_ coffee shop to get breakfast at.

"You want to eat _here_?" Blaine asked incredulously, looking into the all too familiar coffee shop that he had worked in for months.

"Yeah," Kurt said, smiling, "I miss coming here."

So sure enough, the two of them walked into the coffee shop. There was a new person working and they didn't recognize Kurt or Blaine, which was somewhat refreshing. They ordered their drinks – a nonfat mocha for Kurt and a medium drip for Blaine – and then they sat down in the usual spot that Kurt always sat at when Blaine would visit him while working.

"Brings you back, huh?" Kurt said, smiling warmly at the boy across from him.

"Yeah," Blaine said softly, looking around the store that he used to be so familiar with.

As Kurt grinned and sipped on his coffee, Blaine couldn't help but think _this is perfect. This is the moment you've been waiting for_. As soon as he thought it, his heart was pounding loud in his ears. He reached down into his bag and fished out the box, bringing it into his lap and toying with it while he watched Kurt.

"I've missed this place," Kurt mused, still looking around and Blaine just nodded in response. Kurt must have noticed the far away look in his eyes because then he was reaching across the table and grabbing Blaine's free hand, "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Blaine replied, smiling wide, "More than okay. Actually, there's kind of something I want to talk to you about."

Kurt's brows furrowed in confusion but he nodded, "Alright, what's up?"

"Well, it's just…" Blaine started, squeezing Kurt's hand, "I know we've only been dating for a little over two years, but I seriously feel like I've known you my whole life, Kurt. There isn't a day that I don't wish that you would have gone to school at Dalton, because then I would have met you sooner, but I'm so, _so_ grateful that I have you in my life now. I love you so much…"

"Blaine, what are you trying to-" Kurt tried to ask, but he was cut off by Blaine setting a little black velvet box on the table.

He opened it before smiling warmly up at him, "I figured that since I didn't get to meet you sooner, the least I can do is ask you to spend the rest of your life with me. Will you marry me, Kurt?"

Kurt's hands immediately flew to his mouth and he took a second to regain his composure before grabbing the box and inspecting the ring. "It's beautiful, babe…" He whispered, staring at the gold band.

"Does that mean…?"

"Yes!" Kurt exclaimed, causing a couple of people in the coffee shop to look up at him, "Yes, yes of course." He leaned across the table quickly, almost spilling their drinks and kissed Blaine. "God, I love you so much," He mumbled against the other boy's lips.

* * *

><p>It took almost a year and a <em>lot<em> of careful planning from Kurt, but finally, it was their wedding day.

Blaine was getting ready in a small room in a church and he and Kurt had hand picked when the door opened and Cooper walked in, wearing a tux and a bow tie and smiling from ear to ear. "You look handsome, B," He said, proud, as he shut the door behind himself.

"Thanks, Coop," He smiled up at his brother as he tied his own bow tie.

"Everyone is out there waiting for you two," He said softly, coming to stand next to Blaine in front of the mirror, "It really does look nice out there. Really tasteful. Kurt's good."

Blaine chuckled, "Well he _has_ been planning his own wedding since middle school…"

"I wouldn't put it past him," Cooper joked in response. He had properly met Kurt a couple of times, once when he came to visit in New York for a week and again at their engagement party, and though he wanted to be the protective older brother he always was, he really liked Kurt, and he was glad that he made Blaine happy.

"Mom and dad…?" Blaine asked, glancing up at Cooper and wondering if their parents were there. Their mother had met Kurt and loved him and had long ago accepted her younger son for who he was, but their father was still a little weary about that. He hadn't shown up to the engagement party in the fall, and they hadn't talked since. Now it was May.

"They're both out there," Cooper said, smiling, "Mom is _so_ proud."

The thought was almost enough to bring tears to Blaine's eyes as he looked up at his brother in the mirror, but his thoughts were cut short by the door opening.

"I know we're not really supposed to see eachother before the wedding, but since there's no bride, I figured it couldn't be bad luck," Kurt's voice floated lightly through the room and the two boys turned to see him standing in the doorway. He obviously wasn't ready yet – his white shirt was half unbuttoned, his blazer was sitting loosely on his shoulders and his tophat was in his hands – but he still looked perfect in Blaine's eyes. The outfit was something Kurt had designed himself and though he wasn't completely dressed yet, he already looked incredible.

"Wow," Blaine breathed, crossing the room, "You look… perfect."

"_You_ do," Kurt breathed before closing the gap between them and kissing him softly.

Their moment was ruined, though, by Cooper clearing his throat on the other end of the room. Kurt's head shot up and he smiled warmly at the older Anderson. "Hey, Cooper, you look great."

Cooper smiled back and crossed the room to wrap Kurt in a hug, "You do too, Sport." He studied Kurt for a moment before grinning to himself and adding, "So you're not going to get cold feet are you? I'd hate to have to kick your ass for running out on my brother again."

Blaine's eyes immediately widened at the memory and he smacked him hard in the chest for bringing it up, "Shut up, Cooper!"

"I'm not. I promise," Kurt said, smiling and ignoring Blaine's reaction, "I love him way too much to leave again. So get used to having me as a brother-in-law."

Cooper chucked and clapped Kurt on the shoulder, "You'll make a great Anderson. Or Anderson-Hummel. Or whatever you crazy kids decide on."

Kurt smiled warmly, "Thank you, Cooper."

At that, the three of them were interrupted by the door opening again and Rachel's head poking in. When she saw Kurt, she gasped in horror and threw the door the rest of the way open. She was wearing a cute yellow summer dress and her hair was curled and perfect, though she looked pissed off. "Kurt! What do you think you're doing? You need to finish getting ready! _And_ you're not supposed to see him before the wedding, you idiot!"

Kurt laughed at her outburst, "Alright, alright."

Rachel seemed to finally notice Blaine and Cooper and smiled in their direction, "You two look great." She then turned back to Kurt, "Come on. We have to go."

Though Rachel was practically dragging him across the room, Kurt leaned forward to kiss Blaine quickly and mumble, "See you on the other side."

It was about an hour later when the two boys were standing at the end of the isle, smiling warmly at eachother before saying "I do" and kissing in front of their friends and family.

It was quite a few more hours later before the two boys were laying in bed in some fancy hotel bed that Blaine's parents had kindly paid for.

"I can't believe it…" Kurt breathed out, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen between the two of them after they had ordered room service. They were set to leave for their honeymoon the next morning and were spending the evening just relaxing.

"You can't believe what?" Blaine asked, turning to look at him lovingly.

Kurt reached forward to grab his hand. "That we made it this far," He replied softly, "I'm not going to lie… There was a point where I thought you were out of my life for good, Blaine. I can't believe I almost let myself miss this."

Blaine just smiled and squeezed his hand reassuringly, "I love you so much, Kurt."

"I love you too."

* * *

><p><em>I had SO much fun writing this fic, and I'm so glad that you guys enjoyed it! Thank you EVERYONE for reading. It really means a lot to me!<br>- Shannon _

* * *

><p><em>Also, because every chapter was named after a song, here's a list of the songs I used, in case you want to listen to them!<em>

_1. "Frame By Frame" - The Honorary Title_  
><em>2. "Sunday Morning" (acoustic) - Maroon 5<em>  
><em>3. "Harvard on the Hudson" - With The Punches<em>  
><em>4. "I Like You" - Man Overboard<em>  
><em>5. "Say It's Possible" - Terra Naomi<em>  
><em>6. "Blindsided" - Bon Iver<em>  
><em>7. "The Cave" - Mumford And Sons<em>  
><em>8. "A Mess to be Made" - The Format<em>  
><em>9. "My Body" - Young The Giant<em>  
><em>10. "Please Head North" (acoustic) - Transit<em>  
><em>11. "Apartment" - Young The Giant<em>  
><em>12. "Lost in my Mind" - The Head And The Heart<em>  
><em>13. "All Good Things" - The Weepies<em>  
><em>14. "No... I'm Not Going to 80's Night" - With The Punches<em>  
><em>15. "I Hope This Finds You Well" (acoustic) - Transit<em>  
><em>16. "Stealing Tomorrow" - Great Lake Swimmers<em>  
><em>17. "Grand Theft Autumn" - Fall Out Boy<em>  
><em>18. "Oh My Stars" - Andrew Belle<em>  
><em>19. "Poison And Wine" - The Civil Wars<em>  
><em>20. "I Was Scared and I'm Sorry" - The Wonder Years<em>  
><em>21. "First Day of my Life" - Bright Eyes<em>


End file.
